Gotta Serve Somebody? Religious Liberty, Freedom of Conscience, and Religion as Comprehensive Doctrine

September 11, 2020 By Francis J. Beckwith

That’s the title of an article I recently published in the journal, Studies in Christian Ethics 33.2 (2020). It is a revised version of a paper I delivered at a conference at Oxford University in May 2018. Here is the abstract: This article critically assesses an account of religious liberty often associated with several legal and political philosophers: Ronald Dworkin, John Rawls, and Christopher Eisgruber and Lawrence Sager. Calling it the Religion as Comprehensive Doctrine approach (RCD), the author contrasts it with an... Read more

Law

Philosophy

politics

Religious Liberty

Studies in Christian Ethics

The brilliance of St. Augustine on grace and free will

August 28, 2020 By Francis J. Beckwith

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Today, August 28, is the Feast Day of St. Augustine of Hippo (AD 354-430). The most influential theologian in the history of Western Christianity, he often is cited by both Catholics and Protestants in support of their respective views on the doctrine of justification. The following is an example of St. Augustine’s brilliance. In these paragraphs, from his On Grace and Free Will (AD 426 or 427), he offers an interpretation of Scripture that, in my judgment, reconciles the apparently contrary... Read more

Some interesting reads on Biden/Trump, Liberty University, and sage advice from Princeton professors

August 27, 2020 By Francis J. Beckwith

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Over the past 24 hours I’ve read several online pieces, three of which stand out. The first appeared in The Bulwark and is authored by Mona Charen. Entitled, “Why this Prolife Conservative is Voting for Biden,” she writes: Being pro-life is part of an overall approach to ethical questions. It’s wrong to take innocent life. But other things are immoral too. It’s also wrong to swindle people, to degrade and demonize, to incite violence, to bully, and while we’re at... Read more

Biden

Prolife

Trump

Keith Whittington on academic freedom

August 24, 2020 By Francis J. Beckwith

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Princeton Politics professor, Keith Whittington, has published an important piece in Real Clear Politics about the growing threats to academic freedom in American colleges and universities. Entitled “Chipping Away at Academic Freedom,” Whittington draws our attention to an open letter, signed by a group of faculty at his own university, that is demanding “the creation of a faculty committee empowered to`oversee the investigation and discipline of racist behaviors, incidents, research, and publication on the part of the faculty.'” There is... Read more

Snoop Dogg says, “Read the Syllabus.”

August 13, 2020 By Francis J. Beckwith

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I always tell this to my students. Perhaps they will listen to Snoop Dogg: Read more

Baylor

Snoop Dogg

Syllabus

That Good Old Baylor Line That Led Me Back to Catholicism

August 13, 2020 By Francis J. Beckwith

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Earlier today it occurred to me that on August 24 I begin my 18th year as a faculty member at Baylor University. While reflecting on my nearly two decades in Waco, I was reminded of a piece I published 8 years ago in The Catholic Thing the week before I was to begin my 10th year at Baylor. In it I explain how my arrival in Bear Country was instrumental in my return to the Catholic Church. Here’s how it begins:... Read more

New Books Network podcast interview on “Never Doubt Thomas: The Catholic Aquinas as Evangelical and Protestant” (Baylor UP, 2019) |

August 7, 2020 By Francis J. Beckwith

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I’m happy to report that Hope Leman’s interview of me at New Books Network is now accessible online. The topic of the interview is my latest book, Never Doubt Thomas: The Catholic Aquinas as Evangelical and Protestant, published by Baylor University Press. Here’s how she introduces the interview: Should you care how Protestant theologians and philosophers view a man generally regarded as of interest primarily to Catholics and as a pillar of Catholic thinking? Absolutely. Why? Because much of what... Read more

License to Kill – Bob Dylan on David Letterman in 1984

August 5, 2020 By Francis J. Beckwith

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Lyrics follow Man thinks ’cause he rules the earth he can do with it as he please And if things don’t change soon, he will Oh, man has invented his doom First step was touching the moon Now, there’s a woman on my block She just sit there as the night grows still She say who gonna take away his license to kill? Now, they take him and they teach him and they groom him for life And they set... Read more

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New Article: “Moral Status and the Architects of Principlism” (The Journal of Medicine & Philosophy)

July 30, 2020 By Francis J. Beckwith

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I am happy to report that I was informed by Oxford University Press that an article I authored with University of South Alabama philosopher, Allison Krile Thornton, has just been published in The Journal of Medicine and Philosophy. Entitled “Moral Status and the Architects of Principlism,” it appears in a special issue commenting the 40th anniversary of the publication of the first edition of Tom Beachamp and James Childress’ Principles of Biomedical Ethics. Here is the article’s abstract: In this article, we discuss Beauchamp... Read more

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Too Good to Pass Up: Black Intellectual Roundtable Podcast

July 29, 2020 By Francis J. Beckwith

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I came across this wonderful podcast hosted by Bret Weinstein, a biologist and evolutionary theorist who gained notoriety during the 2017 crisis at Evergreen State University. In this podcast, Dr. Weinstein leads a discussion with an impressive collection of Black public intellectuals, some of whom I have admired for years and some of whom I had never heard of but whose works I look forward to exploring in the future. If you are like me, you will likely find yourself... Read more