For the last several weeks I have been trying to develop an ecological orientation through the narrative imagination. By ecological orientation, I mean “a new consciousness of the country” or “a new relation to it,” as the narrator of O Pioneers! describes in the exquisite . . . . Continue Reading »
Is it the teaching of Christianity that man has dignity? I outlined my problem with this claim from a philosophical perspective here. Then I was rereading Philippians 2:Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with . . . . Continue Reading »
Imagine a world where humanity becomes better. Better in social context and better in biological content. That was and is the promise of the progressive movement. The social context is where we usually spend our time as we deal with progressives. They begin by presenting the Christian with the . . . . Continue Reading »
For whatever reason, the six-year venture of the Women’s Bioethics Project has come to an end with a recent announcement that they are closing their doors. But their work is not really finished, it is evolving. Kathryn Hinsch writes on the organization’s website:We need ways to . . . . Continue Reading »
In April, 2009, a draft report from NVAC raised the question of whether the apparent cause of autism coming from vaccinations was not due to the presence of mercury but instead might be due to the presence of, and an interaction with, the aborted fetus (human) DNA in the vaccine. Teresa Deisher . . . . Continue Reading »
Martha Nussbaum, one of America’s leading public intellectuals, has devoted considerable attention in the last few years to the role that disgust and shame play in our individual and collective lives, particularly in the law.The book that got it all started was Hiding from Humanity: Disgust, . . . . Continue Reading »
I was planning to followup my critique of Kant with a parallel commentary on utilitarianism, but was waylaid by picking up some unread material sitting in my bookcase: an anthology of Aquinas’ thought On Law, Morality, and Politics, Hackett Press, Second Edition. (I’ll quote from . . . . Continue Reading »
N.B. please note the change in by-line for this posting.It has always been a most curious matter. As an advocate of traditional Christian practices of respect for human dignity, I have always called the attention of my ethics students to Immanuel Kant’s argument for this dignity. Traditionally . . . . Continue Reading »
Every person who has experienced the power of faith and religious conviction bridles at the continuing intellectual hegemony of secularism in our culture. Scholars, religious leaders, or cultural trendsetters who can articulate the case for the continuing vitality of religion are prized. A . . . . Continue Reading »
Sometimes it takes days, weeks, or even months for insight into the significance of an obscure text to gestate. And then sometimes it merely takes a serendipitous intersection of disparate sources. In The Star of Redemption, Franz Rosenzweig presented “Christianity” as a worldly . . . . Continue Reading »
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