Being a Patheos blogger, you understand, is a pretty cush deal. For example, the folks at Patheos corporate HQ recently offered any interested Dorothy Option contributor a free copy of Joe Paprocki’s book, A Church on the Move, in exchange for a few hundred words of comment for the conversation at the Patheos Book Club. I don’t know why I agreed to do this–like I really need to own one more book. Maybe there’s room for it in the fridge. But... Read more
On February 25th there was another “mass shooting,” this time in Hesston, Kansas, just down the road from where I live. In this light, I was reminded of some things I wrote after the school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, and I thought it a good time to revisit the theme of insanity and alienation in our society: Insanity is understandable. I can, in a sense, walk a certain distance in the shoes of the phobic who fears open spaces…All that... Read more
On January 25, my 52 year-old brother Paul was stricken by cardiogenic shock, a life-threatening condition in which the heart can no longer provide blood and oxygen to the body unassisted. Paul had long suffered from myocarditis, a chronic condition caused by a viral infection of the heart, and it was expected that before long he would become a candidate for a heart transplant. Then he fell off the cliff. After admission to Nashville’s St. Thomas Hospital West, Paul was... Read more
We’re usually fairly serious around this blog but I want to begin by recalling one of my favorite jokes. A small crowd in 1930s Berlin is standing around a soapbox orator who is loudly castigating the Jews. “The Jews are responsible for the banking collapse. Down with the Jews!” A small fellow in the back adds his voice, shouting “Down with the bicyclists!” The orator continues, “The Jews are responsible for German war debt. Down with the Jews!” To which... Read more
“It was the month of May, or the month of June, in any case summer was near, and within only a few weeks the war would break out, although nobody knew this at the time, and those who had premonitions couldn’t go so far as to believe them, because fear rejects what the intuition accepts…” – Manuel de Lope, The Wrong Blood Embed from Getty Images It can happen here. To be honest, there are moments when I enjoy the sight... Read more
By Josh Brumfield I confess I like the Benedict Option. I am attracted to the notion of intentional community. I trust in the long-term missionary potential of practices of stability. One might say I have lived in a BenOp community, although most of us living there would not describe it as such, and some would overtly dispute the claim. I have argued at conferences for Ratzinger’s Benedict Option, but I think Ratzinger’s Benedictine idea of creative minorities might have more... Read more
Our new bishop at the Diocese of Gary is a mild-mannered guy but lately he got really steamed about a high school basketball game and even made the national news. Bishop Donald Hying was smacking down the behavior of student fans at a basketball game between two area Catholic high schools, one of which, Bishop Noll Institute in Hammond, has a predominately Latino population. During a game last Friday evening, students from the opposing school, Andrean (in Merrillville IN), held... Read more
Consider this more of a friendly “book recommendation” than a “review.” I don’t wish to outline the book’s general shape, nor will I analyse its arguments in much detail. I only want to point it out as an up-to-date and valuable piece of research that sheds important light on the subject of poor relief. I should emphasize that I am not pointing this book out primarily as fodder for the “Protestant vs. Catholic” debate. It may be useful in that area,... Read more
I recently attended an event hosted by the Acton Institute entitled “A Gentleman’s Debate: Distributism vs. Free-Markets,” featuring Jay Richards representing economic liberalism/capitalism, and Joseph Pierce representing distributism. While I attended with some appreciation for the fact that Acton would be willing to host such a discussion, I left the event deeply disappointed, albeit unsurprisingly. Although both speakers began their prepared remarks defining terms they believed were relevant to the discussion, neither raised the concept of or defined the term... Read more
The Participants Ambassador: Between stints at universities and think tanks, has enjoyed several high posts as a political appointee. She identifies with the neo-conservative movement. Professor (emeritus): A distinguished humanities teacher of the old school. His obscure essays appear in equally obscure philosophical-theological journals. Talk Show Host: An experienced journalist, her views reflect for the most part what in the United States goes by the name ‘mainstream.’ Scientist: A Russian scientist trained in the hard sciences but with wide interests... Read more
The Dorothy Option
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