I was reading an On the Square post from a Mormon to Catholic convert and was struck by the way he described his enounter with grace: Early in the evening of May 28, 2010, I am attending Mass in the majestic Basilica di Sant’Apollinare next to the Pontificia Università della Santa Croce in Rome. From Utah I have come as a scholar to deliver a paper at an international conference on the work of the great Catholic philosopher Dietrich von... Read more
Can I interest you in a musical theatre illustration of my point from earlier today? I’m quite fond of the song “I’m Not Afraid of Anything” from Jason Robert Brown’s Songs for a New World, and I’ve embedded a nice performance of it below. Here, as in most cases when I’ve seen the song performed, the actress ends the song in a place of vulnerability. The last line “Cause, after all, I’m not afraid” is pretty clearly a lie, and the character... Read more
“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent” is a quote that is frequently attributed to Eleanor Roosevelt (without sourcing). I found it for the first time while I was in middle school in a Dear Abby column and adopted it as a mantra until some point in college. This can be a helpful coping strategy, especially in middle school, but I was definitely too enthused about it. I flashed back to my younger self when I read... Read more
After enduring a coordinated, relentless campaign of harassment, Jen McCreight of Blag Hag is done. She’s just posted her farewell message at Freethought Blogs. I love writing, I love sharing my ideas, and I love listening to the ideas of my readers. But I simply no longer love blogging. Instead of feeling gleeful anticipation when writing up a post, I feel nothing but dread. There a group of people out there (google the ironic term FtBullies to find them) devoted... Read more
The “Welcome to JT” thread has digressed into a number of interesting discussions (parental authority over children, what to make of data that suggests the people you think are wrong are doing better than you, etc). And I do want to throw this less wrong post on envying “irrational” choices into the mix, but the comment I want to highlight is on a different subject. Clarissa wrote: Yeah, JT presents himself as a nice guy, but he can turn on a dime... Read more
I received a comped reviewer’s copy of Beauty Will Save the World: Recovering the Human in an Ideological Age from the Intercollegiate Studies Institute. I enjoyed reading Gregory Wolfe’s Beauty Will Save the World, but I’m not sure that it’s a book best read straight through, as I did. The second best way to read it probably reading the first section, in which Wolfe lays out his thesis, and then dipping in and out of his profiles of writers and artists over a... Read more
My favorite union movie, hands down, is Newsies, which also ranks pretty high on my list of favorite Disney musicals. The show is about the real life newsboys strike at the turn of the century. Among it’s many virtues: excellent choreo (the dancing is all energy and not fussy), a Teddy Roosevelt cameo, Christian Bale not gargling gravel, a great message, and an almost invisible romance because this is a movie about friendship and solidarity. (The Broadway staging amped up the... Read more
I’m skipping around in JT’s questions, so, today, let’s take a look at #2: What parts of Catholicism do you now accept? Which do you reject? Specifically… Did Jesus rise from the dead? Do you believe in heaven and hell? If so… What are the criteria for entry into heaven? Into hell? Were you to find out today that disobeying the ten commandments meant entry to heaven and abiding by them landed you in hell, would your behavior change?... Read more
Look how delicate and lovely my metatarsals and phlanges are! If you’re anywhere near a Bodies exhibit, I really recommend a trip. First of all, it’s not gross at all (and this is coming from someone who covers her eyes when watching House). I was really overwhelmed by the beauty of human anatomy each time I went, and I felt a surge of that awe again when I got to peer inside my foot on Friday. Of course, we’re not... Read more
JT Eberhard, formerly of FreeThought Blogs and the Secular Student Alliance is moving to Patheos today! And given that he’s already lit into Timothy Dalrymple before he moved, I imagine it will be a high-spirited housewarming party. So, before the punch bowl gets overturned, I would like to propose a toast (not that kind!). JT did great work for the Secular Student Alliance. (And, honestly, for Christians as well). The kind of tradition that needs to graft itself onto the public schools... Read more
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Unequally Yoked
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