Increased secularization in America has brought with it a declined adherence to traditional religions. Yet at the same time, it sometimes seems like dogmatism is at an all-time high. While Americans have become more liberal with religion, many increasingly profess a rigid obedience to political, economic, social, and scientific positions with the same fervor usually
READ MOREOver Easter weekend, Pope Francis delivered a lovely if banal message to the world in the wake of the brutal attacks in Brussels. He called upon the world to use “weapons of love” to combat the “blind and brutal violence” employed by ISIS. It is difficult to admonish the Pope too harshly for using the
READ MOREIn recent years, a number of people have advocated for the teaching of classical languages like Latin and Greek to make a comeback in the schools. Schools in Australia have tried this and seen amazing results on test scores in a variety of subjects. So why does instruction in languages like Latin and Greek boost
READ MORENowadays, the norm when reading a book alone is to read it silently to oneself. Apparently, this practice was unusual in the ancient world. As an undergraduate I had to read St. Augustine’s Confessions (397-400), which some claim to be the first autobiography written in the Western world. At the time, I remember being taken
READ MOREWho would sympathize with the Roman official who had Jesus crucified? Even among many who don’t consider themselves Christian, Pontius Pilate is a cultural symbol of an abusive, authoritarian power. But there are a few movies, such as Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ, that present him as an almost sympathetic figure. That’s not
READ MOREA decade and half after the publication of Brave New World (1931), Aldous Huxley penned a foreword to his magnum opus that has attracted relatively little attention. Written shortly after the conclusion of the Second World War, the article is fascinating in both its frenetic pace and bold conclusions, some of which appear prescient, others
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