Friday, April 5, 2013
Church and State in a nutshell: Garnett on PBS
Here's a short clip from an upcoming PBS documentary, "Constitution USA with Peter Sagal", in which I very . . . efficiently explain (what I think is) the "right way to understand" the separation of church and state. Another way to describe the video would be to say that it presents "two very bald guys wandering around a courtyard."
Rock 'n' Roll as a Search for the Infinite
For all those in, near, or dying to visit South Bend: Here's a really cool upcoming event, sponsored by Notre Dame's Center for Ethics and Culture:
Rock'N'Roll as Search for the Infinite
At 8PM on Thursday, April 11th, in the McKenna Hall Auditorium, John Waters, Irish music journalist, author, and playwright, will give a presentation entitled, "Three Chords and the Desire for Truth: Rock'N'Roll as Search for the Infinite." In this presentation, Mr. Waters will discuss the work of different rock'n'roll musicians and examine the way in which this work reflects a longing for something much greater than the drugs, sex, and fame normally associated with the genre. Artists discussed will include Mumford and Sons, U2, Dave Matthews Band, Pink Floyd, and others.
Thursday, April 4, 2013
"A Tale of Two Graduations"
Go here to learn more about Doe v. Elmbrook, an interesting new cases being handled by the good folks at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. The en banc CTA7 ruled that it was unconstitutional for a school district to hold graduation events in a church auditorium -- which was selected because it was an appropriate and cost-effective venue (objectively better than the school gym) -- because "the sheer religiosity of the space created a likelihood that high school students and their younger siblings would perceive . . . a message of endorsement" and because using church space in this way was "religiously coercive." One of the dissenters, though, Judge Easterbrook, noted that the “only message a reasonable observer would perceive is that comfortable space is preferable to cramped, overheated space. * * * No reasonable observer believes that renting an auditorium for a day endorses the way the landlord uses that space the other 364 days.”
Stay tuned!
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
The Decline and Fall of the Great University
I am grateful to Susan for bringing to our attention the matter of Johns Hopkins University and what is considered to be generating discomfort for some members of the university to have a recognized pro-life group on campus. What Christopher Dawson projected a half century ago regarding certain beliefs not only being unwelcomed but being pushed out of existence is the reality of the present age.
I wonder if those responsible for the denial of the pro-life organization's recognition would also be "uncomftable" with the need to: work, study, write, publish, think, evaluate, research, discuss, debate, and (perhaps most importantly) search for the objective truth which does, in fact, exist if we care to look for it.
RJA sj
Providence College Professor Reflects on Pope's Embrace of His Disabled Son
Paul Gondreau reflects that
our culture often looks upon the disabled: as weak, needy individuals who depend so much upon others, and who contribute little, if anything, to those around them. Pope Francis’ embrace of my son yesterday turns this logic completely on its head and, in its own small yet powerful way, shows once again how the wisdom of the Cross confounds human wisdom. Why is the whole world so moved by images of this embrace? A woman in the Square, moved to tears by the embrace, perhaps answered it best when she to my wife afterward, “You know, your son is here to show people how to love.” To show people how to love.
The lesson my disabled son gives stands as a powerful testament to the dignity and infinite value of every human person, especially of those the world deems the weakest and most “useless.” Through their sharing in the “folly” of the Cross, the disabled are, in truth, the most powerful and the most productive among us.
Pro-Life Group at Johns Hopkind Denied Official Club Status
The opening line of an article with the above headline reads, "The Student Government Association at Johns Hopkins University has denied a pro-life group official club status at the Baltimore school for fear the group will make students feel uncomfortable." Yes, you read that correctly. One of the SGA members explained, “We have the right to protect our students from things that are uncomfortable. Why should people have to defend their beliefs on their way to class?”
My first thought was that Johns Hopkins must have very few official student organizations if the test is whether a group will make any students feel uncomfortable. But I see they have quite a few. So it must be OK to make students uncomfortable on some subjects, but not others.
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
Reminder: "Intellectual Property and Religious Thought" Conference
A reminder of this conference at St. Thomas Law on Friday. A great lineup of speakers (information and registration here). Paul Griffiths (Duke Divinity) and David Opderbeck (Seton Hall Law) may be familiar to MoJ readers. And a subject of growing importance on which Catholic thought (among other faiths') has a lot to say (I claim).
Tom
More on Human Trafficking and Pope Francis
I have previously blogged about what attention, if any, Pope Francis had given to the issue of human trafficking, prior to his selection as Pope. I expressed my hope that he would address the scourge of human trafficking in today's world, as I view it to be the moral issue of our generation. On Easter Sunday I was glad to see that he addressed it head on, describing it as "the most extensive form of slavery in this 21st century." Perhaps equally as important as addressing it in this highly visible forum, Pope Francis linked it to broader issues of selfishness, greed, and peace. By appropriately placing it among the most fundamental world issues, Pope Francis highlights that the multi-billion dollar industry of modern day slavery throughout the world is an issue of world peace. Within a month of taking office on the holiest day of the year, Pope Francis reminded the world that the buying and selling people as "profitable products" is not only immoral, but a destabilizing force for individuals, families, economies, and countries.
Monday, April 1, 2013
Eudaimonia in America
Continuing the conversation that's been going on, in recent months, among folks like Patrick Deneen, Phillip Munoz, Paul Griffiths, and others, about "American liberalism": This essay, in the latest First Things, by Robert Miller (now at Iowa, formerly at Villanova), struck me as well worth a read. In particularly, his distinction between "philosophical liberalism" and "pragmatic liberalism" seems worth keeping in mind. A bit:
An Aristotelian-Thomistic eudaimonist can thus be a pragmatic liberal in contemporary America. There is a deeper point here, however, and it is that, although the philosophical liberal must reject as immoral any form of government other than liberal democracy, the Aristotelian-Thomist can be much more flexible. Leaving aside some extreme systems that would substantially prevent a person from attaining his final end (e.g., a Shari’a theocracy or a Nazi or communist dictatorship), an Aristotelian-Thomist should conclude that, in the right circumstances, almost any form of government may be the best available. Hence, St. Paul urged respect for the Roman emperor, who was an absolute autocrat;St. Wenceslaus was a feudal overlord; and St. Thomas More served Henry VIII, who was a constitutional monarch.
The Aristotelian-Thomist would endorse these forms of government not because they answer to certain political principles but because, in the circumstances, they were more likely to produce conditions under which people could live good lives than were any of the practically available alternatives.
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