On the Economics of Global Warming

June 8, 2007 By voxnovablog

Many thanks to Katerina for her excellent post on the science underpinning global warming. What really bothers me about global warming denial is that people feel free to simply ignore the overwhelming consensus of experts, and instead take comfort in the arguments a few contrarians. Would people be so willing to reject the received medical wisdom and embrace some peddler of “alternative healing techniques” on the grounds that the doctors are lying? Hardly, and when one’s health (or the health... Read more

Should Catholics Follow The Utopian Vision of Modern Democracies? Part III-1 Some Reflections on the Founding Fathers of America

June 7, 2007 By voxnovablog

The average American individual is generally satisfied with the sense of freedom they possess by living in the United States. It is certainly a philanthropic desire which makes many Americans want to spread the democratic way of life around the world. Few of them have taken the time to observe the realities of freedom; they enjoy the freedoms they posses while they are blind to those restrictions society places upon them which limits the actuality of this freedom. Someone raised... Read more

Marriage – contract or sacrament?

June 7, 2007 By voxnovablog

“Legislation was passed which did not recognize that either God or Jesus Christ had any rights over marriage—an erroneous view which debased matrimony to the level of a mere civil contract, despite the fact that Jesus Himself had called it a “great sacrament” (Ephesians v, 32) and had made it the holy and sanctifying symbol of that indissoluble union which binds Him to His Church. The high ideals and pure sentiments with which the Church has always surrounded the idea... Read more

Loving and Hating Freedom

June 6, 2007 By voxnovablog

One thing we hear constantly in America is how people love and appreciate their freedom. This ideal of liberty and freedom as enjoyed in a liberal democracy is often elevated to the status of a pseudo-religion, the result of the fusing of nationalism and Christianity, as noted in Michael’s posts. And of course, George W. Bush embraces a particular messianic notion of this “religion”, by attempting (with catastrophic consequences) to redeem and re-fashion the world with liberal democratic values– in... Read more

Conversions

June 6, 2007 By voxnovablog

The conversion of Dr. Francis Beckwith, until recently the president of Evangelical Theological Society, to the Church is a noteworthy event. In an interview he made the following point: ‘Something else concerning authority factored into my internal deliberations as well. But I do not think I can conjure up the words to properly express it. So, I will just rely on an elegant insight offered in First Things by a recent Catholic convert, R. R. Reno, which perfectly echoes my... Read more

NFP: Part1 The Church Teaching On Family Planning

June 6, 2007 By voxnovablog

In this section, I will let the Popes do the talkin’, so to speak. I will let them explain for themselves why the Church teaches what She does regarding family planning issues. When I decided actually to read the documents myself, I was very surprised as to what She does say. Pope John Paul II had this to say about Natural Family Planning in a 1996 speech to NFP instructors: The moment has come for every parish and every structure... Read more

Brownback backpedals

June 6, 2007 By voxnovablog

I couldn’t help but notice that, having spelled out his pro-life worldview and having insisted that the Republican party is “pro-life” by principle, Sam Brownback was a bit unprepared for the professorially attired and frequently interrupting Wolf Blitzer: Would Brownback support a pro-choice Republican nominee for the U.S. presidency (i.e. Rudy Giuliani)? Without explicitly stating that he would support Giuliani and without any hint of qualification, Brownback explicitly stated that he would support whichever candidate earns the Republican nomination. So,... Read more

Number 6’s Speech

June 6, 2007 By voxnovablog

Today I am taking a brief break from my series of posts, “Should Catholics Follow The Utopian Vision of Modern Democracies?” To keep the spirit alive, I have decided to post this classic scene taken from the last episode of The Prisoner. Watch the first three minutes of it. Our hero, Number 6, has been offered the chance to lead those who, up to that point, have been trying to imprison him; he is asked to give a speech, to... Read more