Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta will vote on reversing condemnation of Pelagius

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 1:28 pm By Francis J. Beckwith

(HT: Rod Dreher). Over 1500 years in the making, Pelagius is making an ecclesiastical comeback. The story begins: The [Episcopal] Diocese of Atlanta has been asked to rehabilitate Pelagius. Delegates to the diocesan convention will be asked to reverse the condemnation of the Council of Carthage upon Pelagius, and to explore whether the Fifth century heretic may inform the theology of the Episcopal Church. Resolution R11-7 before the convention states in part: “Whereas the historical record of Pelagius’s contribution to our... Read more

“From Catholic to Evangelical and Back Again: A Christian Philosopher’s Journey.”

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 1:28 pm By Francis J. Beckwith

That is the title of a talk I am giving on November 2 at 7 pm at Baylor University’s St. Peter’s Catholic Student Center. You can find out more information here. If you want to learn more about St. Peter’s, go here. Read more

Reformation Day, continued

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 1:28 pm By Francis J. Beckwith

On Friday, I published an entry over at The Catholic Thing, to which I linked on this blog. Entitled, “Reformation Day – and What Led Me To Back to Catholicism,” it has, as I expected, inspired some responses by a variety of commentators. What follows are some of my thoughts on those responses. _____________________________ It is always an honor to have one’s work be the focus so much diverse and interesting opinions. But given the nature of the topic, there... Read more

Reformation Day – and What Led Me To Back to Catholicism

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 1:28 pm By Francis J. Beckwith

That is the title of my latest entry over at The Catholic Thing. Here’s how it begins: October 31 is only three days away. For Protestants, it is Reformation Day, the date in 1517 on which Martin Luther nailed his Ninety-Five Theses to that famous door in Wittenberg, Germany. Since I returned to the Catholic Church in April 2007, each year the commemoration has become a time of reflection about my own journey and the puzzles that led me back... Read more

Government Forms (or Deforms) Your Soul

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 1:28 pm By Francis J. Beckwith

That is the title of an article I published last year (vol. 21, no. 5, September 2010) in This Rock (now Catholic Answers Magazine), the magazine of Catholic Answers. It is now available online. Portions of this article are adapted from portions of my most recent book, Politics for Christians: Statecraft as Soulcraft (InterVarsity Press, 2010). Here’s how the article begins: “Statecraft,” Aristotle instructed his pupils, “is soulcraft.” What he meant is that the state or government, by its policies,... Read more

President Obama: Ex-Liberal

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 1:28 pm By Francis J. Beckwith

That’s the title of my latest entry over at The Catholic Thing. Here’s how it begins: President Barack Obama has abandoned liberalism. What I mean by liberalism is not the political philosophy that we typically associate with left of center politicians and candidates. The President, of course, remains unabashedly in that camp. What I am referring to you is a particular posture concerning moral questions the President has publicly embraced on several occasions. It is from that liberalism he has... Read more

The Human Being, a Person of Substance

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 1:28 pm By Francis J. Beckwith

That’s the title of a chapter I recently published in the book, Persons, Moral Worth, and Embryos: A Critical Analysis of Pro-Choice Arguments, edited by Stephen Napier. (Dordrecht: Springer, 2011), 67-83. Other contributors in the book include my Baylor colleague Alexander Pruss as well as Jason T. Eberl, A. A. Howspeian, Christopher Tollefsen, Helen M. Alvaré, and David Hershenov. You can read my entire chapter via Google Books here. Here’s how the chapter begins (citations omitted): Over the past decade or so... Read more

Robert P. George and Russell Moore discuss religion in the public square

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 1:28 pm By Francis J. Beckwith

Here’s an outstanding discussion between a Catholic, Robert P. George (Princeton University), and an Evangelical, Russell Moore (Southern Baptist Theological Seminary), entitled Faith in America: Religion in the Public Square. The discussion took place on Monday, October 3, 2011, at Princeton University. You can watch the video here. Both these men are friends of mine, I am proud to say. Read more

New word: Metaphornication

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 1:28 pm By Francis J. Beckwith

Here’s the context. On Thursday evening I was in Denver. Over dinner I was discussing with friends Pat Robertson’s claim that one can divorce a spouse with Alzheimer and begin dating others without violating the “in sickness and in health” requirement, because, according to Robertson, the spouse suffering from Alzheimer is “a kind of death.” As the conversation continued, one of the other dinner guests pointed out that Martin Luther had said that divorce for reason of adultery is not... Read more

The Christian University

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 1:28 pm By Francis J. Beckwith

That’s the title of my latest entry over at The Catholic Thing. It is adapted from my September 23, 2011 talk at the installation of Myron Steeves as Dean of Trinity Law School. Here’s how it begins: As is evident by where and how we mark this event – in a church, accompanied by prayer and song – Trinity Law School, and the university of which it is a part, is Christian. “Christian” may seem a mere adjective that modifies “university”... Read more