HBU starting M.A. in philosophy program

Last updated on: June 22, 2020 at 4:54 pm By Francis J. Beckwith

Houston Baptist University is starting an M.A. program in philosophy. Given the quality of its faculty, and the recent hiring of philosopher John Mark Reynolds as the new HBU provost, this is an exciting development. Here’s what the HBU website says: Program Description The mission of the Master of Arts in Philosophy (MAPhil) is to develop students who are capable of serving their community and the Church successfully in a variety of vocations, including academic, parachurch, and ecclesiastical professions. The... Read more

The Parable of the Kosher Deli: Bishop Lori’s Statement to the House Committee on Oversight regarding Religious Freedom

Last updated on: June 22, 2020 at 4:54 pm By Francis J. Beckwith

I anticipate the bishop’s analogy in my October 14, 2011 Catholic Thing essay, “President Obama: Ex-Liberal.” Here is the text of Bishop Lori’s statement: (more…) Read more

Apple Doesn’t Like the Tridentine Mass?

Last updated on: June 22, 2020 at 4:54 pm By Francis J. Beckwith

I just ordered a new iPod Touch. I took the engraving option, and asked for this to be inscribed on the back: et cum spiritu tuo But Apple refused to honor my request. Here’s the message I received: “Inappropriate message text.” So, instead I ordered this to be engraved on the back: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner It does have the advantage of being a bit more ecumenical than my first choice. Read more

Chuck Colson Schools Rush Limbaugh

Last updated on: June 22, 2020 at 4:54 pm By Francis J. Beckwith

[audio:http://wp.patheos.com.s3.amazonaws.com/blogs/returntorome/files/2012/03/030612_BP.mp3|titles=030612_BP] You can find the transcript here. Read more

From Left Behind to Right Behind: Denny Burk’s review of Mark and Grace Driscoll’s “Real Marriage.”

Last updated on: June 22, 2020 at 4:54 pm By Francis J. Beckwith

Just read Denny Burk’s enlightening review of Mark and Grace Discoll’s Real Marriage: The Truth About Sex, Friendship & Life (Thomas Nelson, 2012). The Rev. Driscoll, a committed Calvinist, is a well-known megachurch pastor in the Seattle area. If Driscoll’s book is Evangelicalism’s answer to John Paul II’s Theology of the Body, Evangelicalism has no idea what the question is. Here’s an excerpt from Burk’s review: “Although some Christian authors comment on the ethics of a husband sodomizing his wife,... Read more

Journeys of Faith, to be released on Tuesday, March 6

Last updated on: June 22, 2020 at 4:54 pm By Francis J. Beckwith

Tomorrow, March 6, Zondervan (a subsidiary of Harper Collins Publishers) officially releases the book Journeys of Faith: Evangelicalism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Catholicism, and Anglicanism, edited by Robert L. Plummer (with a forward by my fellow Patheos blogger, Scot McKnight). I am one of the four main contributors, presenting in my chapter an account of my return to Catholicism. My chapter is followed by a response by Gregg R. Allison of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. I then in turn reply to Allison in... Read more

What Reagan Can Teach Romney and Santorum

Last updated on: June 22, 2020 at 4:54 pm By Francis J. Beckwith

That’s the title of my latest piece over at The Catholic Thing. Here’s how it begins: American Conservative politicians are at a rhetorical disadvantage running for national office, not only because the national media are largely liberal. Our cultural vocabulary is infused with liberal assumptions. For this reason, many of us who largely agree with social and economic conservatism cringe when we listen to conservative politicians either struggling to convey a conservative answer without giving offense (as in the case... Read more

Last updated on: June 7, 2023 at 2:24 pm By Francis J. Beckwith

A Thesis Nailed to the Regensburg Door

Last updated on: June 22, 2020 at 4:54 pm By Francis J. Beckwith

That’s the title of an article I just published in Sacred Tribes Journal 7.1 (Spring 2012). It is one of several articles in that issue dealing with the new book by my friend, Stephen H. Webb, Jesus Christ, Eternal God (Oxford University Press). Here’s how my article begins (notes omitted): In his learned and provocative tome, Jesus Christ, Eternal God, Stephen H. Webb plows the soil of hallowed ground. He broaches a topic that most classical theists have considered a settled question... Read more

Ash Wednesday at Baylor

Last updated on: June 22, 2020 at 4:54 pm By Francis J. Beckwith

One of the many reasons I love Baylor. Here’s an announcement that is on the Baylor website: Ash Wednesday worship service Feb. 20, 2012 On February 22nd, there will be an Ash Wednesday service in Miller Chapel at 12:20. For centuries, Christians have observed Ash Wednesday on the first day of the Lenten season, a time of deep introspection, intentional discipline, and preparation as Holy Week approaches. On Ash Wednesday, Christians receive the sign of the cross on their foreheads.... Read more

What does the Greek word 'Doulos' mean in the New Testament?