I knew if I spoke critically of the “The  Manosphere” I would encounter some angry men. My column today at Patheos, “Complementarity, Not Competition” has already brought out a few to make my point for me. Here’s a taste: There is a corner of the internet known as the “manosphere.”  In a backlash to perceived cultural bias against men due to the mainstreaming of feminist principles, some men, feeling oppressed and trampled into submission by strong women, are pushing back... Read more

Obedience is a vow, and every vow is intended to be woven into life as one of the basic foundations of our existence. We are obedient simply because we are creatures, not the creator. Every day we must be obedient to a whole range of laws we never question. We are obedient to everything from the law of gravity to the law of stopping for red lights. To learn obedience and to value obedience therefore, is a way of squelching... Read more

Twenty-six years ago, on January 28, 1986, the Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart 73 seconds into its flight, disintegrating over the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of central Florida.  All seven of its crew were killed, including the “Teacher in Space,” Christa McAuliffe. Remembering this sad anniversary, it’s not space flight I want to talk about, though.  I want to talk about jealousy, and about the seasons of life. When the Challenger exploded, I had three young children at home.  To... Read more

Allow me to introduce you to The Rev’d Humphrey Blytherington–one of the guest bloggers over at my blog Standing on My Head. The guest bloggers are actually alter egos of mine, and for those of you unfamiliar with my blog, you mustn’t be fooled. It’s really me having fun playing different parts. Humph is a happy, dear old fellow; often confused and somewhat of a buffoon, but very lovable and very, very CofE (Church of England). So what ho! Pip... Read more

A scholar was doing work on medieval manuscripts and trying to work out the method of calligraphy the monks used…their technology and technique. So he was studying how many pen strokes the monk could make before re filling his quill pen. A pattern emerged, but then every once and a while he would notice from his microscopic examination of the manuscripts that a monk would put down his pen, while it was still full in mid stroke. The ink would... Read more

“Killing a human being is like pulling weeds in a garden.” So claims an article in the most recent issue of the Journal of Medical Ethics, published on-line on January 19, 2012.  The article titled “What Makes Killing Wrong?” is co-authored by Duke University professor of practical ethics Walter Sinnott-Armstrong and NIH senior bioethicist Franklin G. Miller.   They contend that “…what makes the act of killing morally wrong is not that the act causes loss of life or consciousness but... Read more

This guest blogging thing was going to be gentle and nice and warrior Dwight was going to put away his sword and go on retreat and talk about monasticism and spirituality, but the events of this week have brought up the priests and politics thing. Should religion and politics mix? Should priests speak out on politics? Let’s be clear. Priests are not permitted to run for public office, and clergy are not permitted to endorse a particular candidate or seek... Read more

Go here for my blog post reflecting back on the controversy after Obama’s election when one Catholic priest said voting for him was a serious sin. Read more

The new issue of The Catholic Answer is out and it’s a particularly good one, especially if — as Romney ascends — you want to learn more about what Mormons believe. My column for the issue is also up, over at OSV!, and while Fr. Dwight Longenecker is plumbing the depths of his Benedictine Oblation in these wonderful pieces, you could say I am skating lightly over my own oblation — but to be fair, I’m giving the briefest of... Read more

The second vow the Benedictine takes is the vow of obedience. Obedience!!?? we howl. But we’re grown ups. We’re supposed to take responsibility for ourselves. We’re supposed to be pro active. We’re supposed to make our own moral decisions. Yadda yadda yadda. Yes, no doubt true up to a point. We don’t want a church made up of doormats and robots. However, the vices of any age are best corrected by the virtues we find most repellent. Our age is... Read more