This post originally appeared at Conciliar Post. Another week, another round of things for people to vehemently and caustically disagree about. Whether it’s politics, economics, social issues, or religious news, we can’t seem to disagree with one another fast enough. We’ll pick up a cause and champion it for a time, only to have somethingContinue reading “Difficult Dialogue in Distressing Days”
Tag Archives: Politics
Some Post-Election Reflections
This was unexpected. For weeks, pundits were talking about the flexibility of polling (it looks like the major polls were ~3-4% points off) and the unknowability of the “Silent Trump vote” which came out en masse yesterday. This was yet another election where the experts were off in their predictions enough that it mattered inContinue reading “Some Post-Election Reflections”
Happy Fourth of July
Happy Birthday to the United States of America! As is my custom on this holiday, I encourage you to read the Declaration of Independence (signed this day in 1776) and to reflect on the ideals of government found therein. IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776. The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, WhenContinue reading “Happy Fourth of July”
Book Review: Understanding the Times (Myers and Noebel)
Every so often a book comes along and truly rewrites the paradigms of a field. Some twenty-five years ago, David Noebel penned such a book, titled Understanding the Times. In this 900-page tome Noebel outlined the clash between competing worldviews – ways of viewing and interpreting the world – which were occurring throughout in theContinue reading “Book Review: Understanding the Times (Myers and Noebel)”
Remembering 9/11
Fourteen years ago today, my dad and I were late leaving for school. It was a day like any other. I had even neglected some morning chore, so dad was already sitting in his truck listening to “J.T. in the Morning”, the local morning talk show in South Bend, IN. As I climbed into theContinue reading “Remembering 9/11”
Book Review: Richard John Neuhaus (Boyagoda)
Biographies are intensely personal affairs, filled with the often mundane details purporting to tell the life story of some person of alleged importance. Occasionally, however, a figure of true influence will come along and change the world. In the American context, such figures have often been religious or political leaders, those two realms of discourseContinue reading “Book Review: Richard John Neuhaus (Boyagoda)”
Book Review: Fields of Blood (Armstrong)
For many people living in the West, an assumption exists that religion is inherently violent. After all, they say, just look at the evidence: religion has caused wars, the Crusades, terrorism, religion has made people hate and kill others for nothing more than the ideas that were in their heads. According to this view, religionsContinue reading “Book Review: Fields of Blood (Armstrong)”
Christologies in Conflict: Cyril and Nestorius
The Christological controversies of the early Church are some of the most interesting and historically confusing events within the Christian tradition. The four great Councils of the fourth and fifth centuries and the writings of Early Christian leaders, both orthodox and heterodox, provide scholars with a wealth of information concerning the controversies concerning early beliefContinue reading “Christologies in Conflict: Cyril and Nestorius”
A (Free) College Education for Everyone?
This article originally appeared at Conciliar Post. You may have heard that last week President Obama announced an initiative to provide “free” community college education for qualifying students, tentatively defined as those maintaining a “C” average in school. As noted several months ago here at Conciliar Post, the status quo of the American education systemContinue reading “A (Free) College Education for Everyone?”
Book Review: Galilee in the Late Second Temple and Mishnaic Periods (Ed. Fiensy and Strange)
A longstanding problem for those attempting to study early Christianity involves the obscurity of the first centuries of the Common Era. Though nearly constantly reflected upon and studied since those years faded into the past, there remain numerous gaps in our understanding of the world and context of Jesus and his earliest followers. Unfortunately, thisContinue reading “Book Review: Galilee in the Late Second Temple and Mishnaic Periods (Ed. Fiensy and Strange)”
Pursuing Veritas 