2021 was a real shitshow. It started with the January 6th riot at the Capitol, an ill-conceived protest over the highly irregular 2020 election in which at least two Trump-supporters were killed by police (Ashli Babbit and Roseanne Boyland). We still don’t know the extent of federal foreknowledge or involvement in the event, nor have … Continue reading A 2021 Retrospective: The Bad, the Worse, and the Good
Is multicultural democracy possible? To even ask such a question is enough to land one in hot water these days. Growing up in the 1990's, “multiculturalism” and “diversity” were exciting new buzzwords; today they have acquired the status of dogma. However, I would argue that a certain form of multiculturalism poses an existential challenge to … Continue reading Multiculturalism, Democracy, and the Culture Wars
Yesterday’s Gospel was the Parable of the Talents, as described in the Book of Matthew. For those unfamiliar with the story, it begins with a master who entrusts his servants with his property before embarking on a long journey. To the first servant he gives five talents, roughly equivalent to twenty years’ wages. To the … Continue reading Personal Responsibility and the Parable of the Talents
October is paradoxically both a favorite month for many and also a time typically associated with fear and death. Leaves turn orange, gold, and crimson before falling to the ground to shrivel and decay. The faint chill lacing the morning and evening air is a clear warning that summer, with all its easy lethargy, is … Continue reading Memento Mori and Be Not Afraid
Imagine two tourists standing in front of Chartres Cathedral in France. The first simply gapes in awe as everything clicks slowly into place: God, the Universe, his own life -- microcosm and macrocosm. Transported by its resplendent beauty, his experience transcends human reason. The second tourist mills about anxiously before pausing to take a selfie. … Continue reading Beauty as a Gateway to Faith in Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited
Last night I took my sons to a high school soccer game. One of the best teams in the state (my school) was playing an opponent from a rural county. It was never even close. We scored within the first minute of play, punching the ball in off a cross. It was almost unfair the … Continue reading The Benedict Option for a Brave New World
In 2012, a Gallup International poll found that 12% of global respondents identify as “convinced atheists.” In China, the figure is 47%, followed by Japan at 31% and France at 29%. In the United States, self-identified atheists have risen from 1% in 2005 to 5% in 2012. While this is still a very small figure, … Continue reading A Question for Atheists
I consider myself a free market fan, a climate change skeptic, and a Roman Catholic. For weeks now, the secular media has been telling me that I would hate this papal encyclical. Pope Francis was going to stick it to the anti-scientific conservative deniers and side firmly with the more liberal environmentalists. Now that it … Continue reading Is the Climate in Crisis and the Market Immoral? Reaction to Laudato Si’
The Front Porch Philosopher 