Italian philosopher and theologian
POPULARITY
Categories
Send us Fan MailIt takes 10,000 reps to build, guidance from Aquinas and a little Yogi BerraSupport the show
Episode Topic: Obstacles to Moral ActionExplore how Thomas Aquinas transforms 13th-century ethics into a blueprint for modern life. Join elite scholars as they bridge the gap between ancient habits and contemporary character development, revealing how our first moral choices and the “architecture of consent” continue to shape our journey toward virtue and human flourishing.Featured Speakers:José M. Torralba, University of NavarraRobert J. Barry, Providence CollegeIsabel Lemaître Palma, University of the Andes (Santiago, Chile) Read this episode's recap over on the University of Notre Dame's open online learning community platform, ThinkND: https://go.nd.edu/ad58ab. This podcast is a part of the ThinkND Series titled Aquinas at 800.Thanks for listening! The ThinkND Podcast is brought to you by ThinkND, the University of Notre Dame's online learning community. We connect you with videos, podcasts, articles, courses, and other resources to inspire minds and spark conversations on topics that matter to you — everything from faith and politics, to science, technology, and your career.Learn more about ThinkND and register for upcoming live events at think.nd.edu.Join our LinkedIn community for updates, episode clips, and more.
Should Christians love their own nation more than other nations? Does patriotism conflict with the Great Commission? And what does the Bible teach about our responsibilities to family, church, community, and nation? In this special in-studio episode of The Magistrate, Josh Howard is joined by guest host Alex Kocman for a discussion on patriotism, nationalism, missions, and the Christian doctrine of rightly ordered loves . Drawing from Scripture, Augustine, Aquinas, and the historic Christian tradition, they explore whether Christians have unique obligations toward their own people and nation, how patriotism differs from nationalism, and why love for those nearest to us does not negate our responsibility to the nations.Topics include:Christian patriotismOrdered lovesThe Great CommissionNationalism and "America First"Civil magistrates and public lifeFamily, church, and nationBiblical duties and loyaltiesMissions and evangelismCan love of country be a virtue? Or does it inevitably compete with loyalty to Christ? This episode tackles one of the most debated questions facing Christians today.
Dave took another trip to the emergency room this week — though this one wasn't for him. His daughter Bernadette and one of his boys built a foam block bridge, she went off the side of it, landed on the wall, and broke her clavicle. Clean break. When Adam got the x-ray, he zoomed in, screenshotted just the broken collarbone, and sent it to Lady Haylee with no context — let her think Adam had been out grinding, building fences, shouldering it like a tough guy. Bernadette, for the record, is doing great. Three weeks and she's back to normal. As Dave put it, if you're going to break your clavicle, do it young. Don't do it at Jim's age.A lot of life packed into this one before the topic. Adam and his boys, Luke and Jude, are going to read the Aeneid together this summer — Luke already read it at Holy Family Classical School, so he'll lead the way. Adam helped Dave harvest wheat (the invoice is coming), and the two of them talked homesteading honestly: you don't get into it to save time or money. It's a lifestyle, and the pork chop costs $400 if you're foolish enough to count your own labor. Adam also turned 40 — by the time this airs, the birthday's passed — and he spent his Substack this week reflecting on the four ten-year cycles he's got left, if he's lucky. The big lesson from 30 to 40: he had it backwards. He was making his life serve the business instead of the business serve his life. Build the habits of prayer, reading, and friendship young, because life only gets busier, and it's far easier to keep a habit than to add one.Two prayer requests worth holding. Lady Pamela's due date is this week — baby Niles number seven, two middle names this time, names not yet shared. And baby Mary is still in the NICU. They're going to try again this week to take her off the breathing tube. She's weaning off sedation — which means withdrawals, which is hard — but she's gaining weight and getting stronger. Get past the tube and the next hill is open heart surgery. Adam's grateful for every prayer, and for the guys who sent DoorDash cards. Keep praying for Mary. And a shout-out to Dan O'Brien, David's father-in-law, walking the Camino as this drops — Dan, hope the feet are holding up.This week's pour is a funny one: WhistlePig's 250th Anniversary of America 10-Year "Piggy Bank" Limited Edition Straight Rye, 55% ABV. The box is a literal piggy bank and the bottle is a chrome-plated ceramic pig. Spicier and more herbal than your Weller or Buffalo Trace — but smooth for the proof, with caramel and warm undertones. Picked up at Broken Arrow Wine and Spirits, owned by a good Catholic family from St. Benedict. Jim's yummy scale (bourbon scale): 5.87 out of 6.Then the main course: the Finding of Jesus in the Temple. Luke 2, the last joyful mystery, the only Gospel that records it — and the very first time Jesus is recorded speaking. Adam walks through it with the Catena Aurea, Aquinas's compilation of the Church Fathers edited by St. John Henry Newman. The caravan to Jerusalem split women and children up front, men in the back, and a twelve-year-old could be in either — so Mary thought He was with Joseph, Joseph thought He was with Mary. Theophylact says it wasn't negligence. A logistical blind spot. Any father who's left a kid at church after coffee and donuts gets it.The three days they searched? St. Ambrose says that's no accident — a rehearsal for the three days of the Passion, lost and then found again. The age of twelve is no accident either: right before the bar mitzvah, the Lord fulfilling the law perfectly, right on time, and twelve standing for the tribes and the apostles. Watch Mary, too. She brings her grief straight to her Son without accusation — "why have you done this to us?" — modeling how a soul carries pain to Christ: honestly, blaming no one, trusting before she fully understands. Watch Joseph, who says nothing, and pursues his mission relentlessly without drama. That's the masculine answer to adversity: very well, and you handle it. Protect, provide, establish.Was Jesus being disobedient? The Fathers say no — His higher obedience to His Father's business ran underneath the surface, and verse 51 shows Him going home and being subject to them. God first, then family, and that order doesn't fracture the home. It grounds it. And where did they find Him? In the temple. His Father's house. Which is the whole point: you can find Jesus in nature, in the car, anywhere — but you are guaranteed to find Him in the church, body, blood, soul, and divinity, in the tabernacle of every Catholic church in the world. If you want to become holy, go be with Him. Get an adoration hour. Holiness doesn't happen the way Adam's buddy Juan figured he'd "just kind of one day have a six pack." You have to do something about it. Raise your glass.TOPICS COVEREDDave's daughter Bernadette breaking her clavicle falling off a foam block bridge the kids builtAdam screenshotting the x-ray and sending just the broken collarbone to Lady Haylee with no contextAdam reading the Aeneid with his sons Luke and Jude this summer — and why he's doing it men's-group styleHarvesting wheat, and the honest economics of homesteading ("the $400 pork chop")Why you never homestead to save time or money — it's a lifestyle, not a shortcutAdam turning 40 and his Substack reflection on the four ten-year cycles he has leftThe biggest lesson from 30 to 40 — making the business serve your life instead of your life serving the businessWhy habits of prayer, reading, and friendship are easier to keep than to add laterLeveraging competent friends instead of trying to do everything yourselfLady Pamela due this week with baby Niles number seven — and the two-middle-names debateBaby Mary update — another attempt to come off the breathing tube, weaning off sedation, gaining weightWhy open heart surgery is the next hill after the breathing tubeDan O'Brien walking the Camino — a shout-out for sore feetBourbon of the week: WhistlePig 250th Anniversary 10-Year "Piggy Bank" Limited Edition Straight Rye, 55% ABVThe ceramic pig bottle, the piggy-bank box, and why a limited shelf whiskey runs $250–$350Jim's yummy scale hitting 5.87 out of 6 on the bourbon scaleThe Finding of Jesus in the Temple — Luke 2, the last joyful mystery, and the only Gospel that records itThe first recorded words of Our LordReading the story through the Catena Aurea — Aquinas's compilation of the Fathers, edited by St. John Henry NewmanHow the Passover caravan split women and children up front and men in the back — and how Jesus fell into the gapTheophylact on why it was a logistical blind spot, not negligence or bad parentingSt. Ambrose on the three-day search foreshadowing the three days of the Passion and ResurrectionWhy the age of twelve matters — the year before the bar mitzvah, and the symbolism of the twelve tribes and apostlesJesus fulfilling the law perfectly and right on time, not jumping aheadMary bringing her grief to Christ without accusation — the model for carrying pain to the Lord"About my father's business" vs. "in my father's house" — the translation and what it meansSt. Bede on faith preceding comprehension — assenting before fully understandingSt. Joseph as the model father — pursuing his mission relentlessly, without drama or self-pityMary honoring Joseph's fatherhood — "your father and I" — and why spouses don't belittle each otherHow complaining about your spouse to others actually breaks your wedding vowsWas Jesus disobedient? The Fathers say no — the higher obedience running underneathThe devil's-advocate case that He chose to be left behind, and His right as the Logos to do soJesus using the Socratic method in the temple — asking questions and "making them wonder upon him"The hierarchy of Christ's presence — and why you're guaranteed to find Him in the tabernacleA convert's story and the simple counsel: you just need to be in front of Jesus"Nothing if not you" — non nisi te, Domine — St. Thomas Aquinas's answer to the LordThe spiritual six pack — why holiness never just "happens on its own"Getting an adoration hour as a statement about the kind of man you want to beREFERENCED IN THIS EPISODEBooks & Writings:Catena Aurea by St. Thomas Aquinas, edited by St. John Henry Newman (the Fathers' commentary on the Gospels)The Gospel of Luke, chapter 2 (the Finding in the Temple, vv. 41–52)The Aeneid by Virgil (Adam's summer read with his sons)The Iliad and the Odyssey by Homer (mentioned alongside Luke's classical reading)Adam's Substack, The Grounded Builder — this week's reflection on his ten-year cyclesSaints & Church Fathers:St. Thomas Aquinas (the Catena Aurea; non nisi te, Domine)St. John Henry Newman (editor of the Catena Aurea)Theophylact (the caravan blind spot, not negligence)St. Ambrose (the three days foreshadowing the Passion; Mary's grief without rebuke; "right on time")St. Bede the Venerable (faith preceding comprehension; the hierarchy of loves)St. Teresa of Avila ("no wonder you have so few friends, with how you treat them")St. Humbert of Romans (the importance of place and location in prayer)The Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Joseph (the model of unified, honoring...
Should Christians love their own nation more than other nations? Does patriotism conflict with the Great Commission? And what does the Bible teach about our responsibilities to family, church, community, and nation? In this special in-studio episode of The Magistrate, Josh Howard is joined by guest host Alex Kocman for a discussion on patriotism, nationalism, missions, and the Christian doctrine of rightly ordered loves . Drawing from Scripture, Augustine, Aquinas, and the historic Christian tradition, they explore whether Christians have unique obligations toward their own people and nation, how patriotism differs from nationalism, and why love for those nearest to us does not negate our responsibility to the nations.Topics include:Christian patriotismOrdered lovesThe Great CommissionNationalism and "America First"Civil magistrates and public lifeFamily, church, and nationBiblical duties and loyaltiesMissions and evangelismCan love of country be a virtue? Or does it inevitably compete with loyalty to Christ? This episode tackles one of the most debated questions facing Christians today.Watch all of our videos and subscribe to our channel for the latest content >HereHere
Should Christians love their own nation more than other nations? Does patriotism conflict with the Great Commission? And what does the Bible teach about our responsibilities to family, church, community, and nation? In this special in-studio episode of The Magistrate, Josh Howard is joined by guest host Alex Kocman for a discussion on patriotism, nationalism, missions, and the Christian doctrine of rightly ordered loves . Drawing from Scripture, Augustine, Aquinas, and the historic Christian tradition, they explore whether Christians have unique obligations toward their own people and nation, how patriotism differs from nationalism, and why love for those nearest to us does not negate our responsibility to the nations.Topics include:Christian patriotismOrdered lovesThe Great CommissionNationalism and "America First"Civil magistrates and public lifeFamily, church, and nationBiblical duties and loyaltiesMissions and evangelismCan love of country be a virtue? Or does it inevitably compete with loyalty to Christ? This episode tackles one of the most debated questions facing Christians today.
Creation demonstrates the existence of God, leaving unbelievers without excuse. So, why are so many people still skeptical? Today, R.C. Sproul assesses the influence of Immanuel Kant's philosophy on our relativistic age. Get 46 messages from R.C. Sproul with your donation. You'll receive his teaching series Defending Your Faith on a special-edition DVD, plus the digital messages and study guide. You'll also get his digital series Apologetics of the Early Church: https://gift.renewingyourmind.org/ Live outside the U.S. and Canada? Request both digital teaching series and the digital study guide with your donation: https://www.renewingyourmind.org/global Meet Today's Teacher: R.C. Sproul (1939–2017) was founder of Ligonier Ministries, first minister of preaching and teaching at Saint Andrew's Chapel, first president of Reformation Bible College, and executive editor of Tabletalk magazine. Renewing Your Mind is a donor-supported outreach of Ligonier Ministries. Explore all of our podcasts: https://www.ligonier.org/podcasts
Want to reach out to us? Want to leave a comment or review? Want to give us a suggestion or berate Anthony? Send us a text by clicking this link!The modern world keeps telling you the problem is politics, policy, or personality. We argue it's deeper: bad philosophy becomes bad theology, then bad culture, and eventually a society that can't even explain what truth, freedom, or the human person are. That's why we go back to 1879 and Pope Leo XIII's Aeterni Patris, written when the Church is politically cornered, mocked by the academies, and squeezed by hostile states across Europe. We walk through the real intellectual enemies Leo sees rising behind the scenes: Kantian subjectivism that cuts reason off from reality, Hegelian historicism that turns doctrine into something that “evolves,” positivism that treats only lab results as knowledge, and materialism that reduces mind and soul to chemistry. Then we track Leo's response: recover the Catholic intellectual tradition with St. Thomas Aquinas at the center, rebuild seminaries and universities, and use philosophy as a bridge to faith rather than a replacement for it. From there we bring Leo's warnings forward into the AI era. We talk about media saturation, the coming ad-driven “slop” economy, and why technology without moral formation doesn't stay neutral for long. We also ask the uncomfortable question nobody wants to face: will pornography and artificial intimacy become the profit engine that pushes AI into every corner of life? If you want a grounded Catholic take on faith and reason, Thomism, modernism, Catholic education, and AI ethics, subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave a review. What part of modern life do you think is most shaped by bad philosophy?Support the showGet 10% off an amazing Black Monk Rosary by going to https://www.blackmonkrosaries.com/?ref=AVOIDINGBABYLON and using code AVOIDINGBABYLON at checkout!Check out our sponsor, Nic Nac, at www.nicnac.com and use code "AB25%" for 25% off of your first order!Please subscribe! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKsxnv80ByFV4OGvt_kImjQ?sub_confirmation=1https://www.avoidingbabylon.comMerchandise: https://avoiding-babylon-shop.fourthwall.comLocals Community: https://avoidingbabylon.locals.comFull Premium/Locals Shows on Audio Podcast: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1987412/subscribeRSS Feed for Podcast Apps: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/1987412.rss
Want to reach out to us? Want to leave a comment or review? Want to give us a suggestion or berate Anthony? Send us a text by clicking this link!Europe is declaring the Catholic faith “obsolete,” the Papal States are gone, and the Pope is effectively boxed into Rome. That's the moment Leo XIII steps into, and instead of answering with another list of condemnations, he reaches back to a 13th-century friar and bets the future on Catholic intellectual formation. We walk through the history behind Aeterni Patris and why Leo thinks the real crisis of the modern world is a crisis of philosophy that spills out of universities into law, media, family life, and public morality.We break down the four big currents shaping that era and, honestly, still shaping ours: Kantian subjectivism, Hegelian historicism, positivism, and materialism. Each one chips away at the idea that truth is knowable and stable, and we talk about what happens when seminaries and Catholic education absorb those habits instead of resisting them. From Perugia's Thomist experiment to Leo's push for the Leonine edition and a worldwide revival of Thomism, you'll hear why St. Thomas Aquinas becomes the Church's chosen model for thinking clearly about God, the human person, liberty, authority, and the moral order.Then we make the jump to today: AI, advertising, “slop” content, and the uncomfortable question of what happens when powerful technology grows faster than moral reasoning. If you've been looking for a Catholic take on modern philosophy, Thomism, and AI ethics, this conversation is built for you. Subscribe, share this with a friend who loves big ideas, and leave a review with the one modern assumption you think needs to be challenged first.Support the showGet 10% off an amazing Black Monk Rosary by going to https://www.blackmonkrosaries.com/?ref=AVOIDINGBABYLON and using code AVOIDINGBABYLON at checkout!Check out our sponsor, Nic Nac, at www.nicnac.com and use code "AB25%" for 25% off of your first order!Please subscribe! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKsxnv80ByFV4OGvt_kImjQ?sub_confirmation=1https://www.avoidingbabylon.comMerchandise: https://avoiding-babylon-shop.fourthwall.comLocals Community: https://avoidingbabylon.locals.comFull Premium/Locals Shows on Audio Podcast: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1987412/subscribeRSS Feed for Podcast Apps: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/1987412.rss
Adam's youngest son, John, locked himself in the bathroom. No big deal — kid's fine, sang songs in there for forty-five minutes like a champ. The problem was the doorknob. Broken cam, broken spring, faceplate screws on the wrong side, and no way in. So Adam did what any father of six at the end of a long day does: he took an angle grinder to the thing and ground the entire doorknob into a pile of metal shards on the floor. Dave's suggestion — order the door open under holy obedience — came in a little too late.Then Dave told on himself. Reseating a toilet, scraping the wax ring, already in a state of borderline rage. He bumped the tank against the tile and cracked it. In a fit of Herculean fury he hoisted the seat over his head, ready to Hulk-smash it into a million pieces — and heard, somewhere, his guardian angel. Jesus doesn't want you to do this. He set it down. Didn't destroy it. And got rewarded for it: American Standard honored a lifetime warranty he didn't know he had and shipped him a $1,600 toilet, free, to replace the $200 one he broke. Resisting the rage paid out at eight to one.Then a quieter note. Baby Mary is still in the NICU. They got her off the breathing tube — she lasted about 24 hours before she had to be re-intubated. Good progress, long road still ahead. Oklahoma City's two hours off, the kids are out of school, and the Minihans are looking at hiring a nanny. But Adam wanted to brag on Lady Haylee. A stranger at the NICU left her a handwritten note and a crochet sweater with Mary's name on it — telling Haylee her faith had been an encouragement, that God is using her right there in that place. Haylee wasn't trying to be a witness. She was just being a mother in a hard place. That's exactly why it landed. Keep praying for Mary.This week's pour: Smoke Wagon Uncut Unfiltered Straight Bourbon from Nevada H&C Distilling out of Las Vegas. 59.29% ABV — hand-written on the bottle, so every batch runs a little different. Hot, full-flavored, plenty of grit. Jim's yummy scale gave it a 6.0, which broke the scale, because the scale apparently only went to four until tonight.Then the real work. The spiritual significance of manual labor. Summer's coming — the season of labor — and the guys make the case that work isn't a curse of the fall. Adam was tending the garden before sin entered the world. His very name comes from the dirt — adamah — made from it, named for it, made to work it. St. Augustine: what's more wonderful than to watch God's creation respond to human hands? Aquinas gives his four reasons for manual labor — obtain your livelihood, remove idleness, curb concupiscence ("I'm almost too tired to sin"), and give alms from the surplus. And the deeper distinction: servile work, done out of necessity, and liberal work, done for the sake of rest. We don't work to work. We work so we can look at what we've made, see that it is good, and rest. Same thing a man does in the soil, he does for his wife — order the environment so the thing entrusted to him can thrive. Protect, provide, establish.It's hard. It's supposed to be. What did you think hard was going to be? The man who can fix things is a threat to the throwaway culture — and the same will that fixes a thing is the will that prays the rosary on the morning you'd rather not. Raise your glass.TOPICS COVEREDAdam grinding his kid's bathroom doorknob into shards with an angle grinder after his son John got locked inDave nearly Hulk-smashing a toilet seat in a fit of rage — and the guardian angel that stopped himHow resisting the rage earned Dave a free $1,600 American Standard toilet under a lifetime warrantyBaby Mary update — off the breathing tube for 24 hours, re-intubated, long road still aheadThe Minihans looking at hiring a full-time nanny with the kids out of schoolThe handwritten note and crochet sweater a stranger left Lady Haylee at the NICUHow you carry suffering as a Christian can be a witness even when you're not trying to be oneBourbon of the week: Smoke Wagon Uncut Unfiltered Straight Bourbon, Nevada H&C Distilling, 59.29% ABVJim's yummy scale hitting 6.0 and breaking its own four-point ceilingWhy we even have to talk about manual labor when it used to be everybody's daily lifeAttention as agency — guarding what you direct your mind toward in a world built to fracture itAcedia, apathy, and becoming a cog flung to and fro like Francesca in Dante's ninth circle"The world fears the man who can fix things" — Fr. Mori of Clear Creek AbbeyThrowaway culture and why things are programmed now instead of built to be repairedAdam's M6 Marketing memo on "character without exception" — work and life are one line, not twoManual labor in Genesis — Adam tending the garden before the fall, not afterAdamah — why the first man was made from dirt, named for dirt, and made to work itSt. Augustine on God's creation responding to human handsAquinas's four necessities of manual labor: livelihood, removing idleness, curbing concupiscence, giving alms"I'm almost too tired to sin" — why a hard day's work curbs temptationServile work vs. liberal work — laboring out of necessity vs. laboring for the sake of restJosef Pieper and the Catholic mind: we work so that we can restWhy hard is supposed to be hard, and how it trains the willChoosing to pray the rosary on the morning you've already decided you won'tSelf-sacrificial love — doing the dishes when you don't want to, because she shouldn't have toPrayer as both work and rest — peace as the tranquility of order in this life, rest in the nextWhy unstructured, leisurely time is where the desire to write, paint, and create actually surfacesPassing the habit of manual labor — and the courage to fix things — down to your kids"It's not about the nail" — the philosophy of life behind refusing to just throw things awayREFERENCED IN THIS EPISODEBooks & Writings:In Tune with the World: A Theory of Festivity by Josef PieperLeisure, the Basis of Culture by Josef Pieper (Pieper's broader work on work and rest)Adam's Substack, The Grounded Builder — recent article on five overlooked books worth readingThe Book of Genesis (the creation and naming of Adam; the call to tend the garden)Dante's Inferno (the ninth circle; Francesca in the second circle, flung to and fro)Shakespeare's As You Like It (staged locally by the Sheard family and other homeschool families)Saints & Historical Figures:St. Thomas Aquinas (the four necessities of manual labor; servile vs. liberal work)St. Augustine ("what is more wonderful than to observe the workings of nature...")Adam (the first man — adamah, made from and for the dirt)People:Adam Minihan (host; founder of M6 Marketing; writes The Grounded Builder on Substack)Dave Niles (host)Jim (in studio — keeper of the yummy scale; shipping Patreon gifts; prays with Hallow)Fr. Mori of Clear Creek Abbey ("the world fears the man who can fix things")Brandon Sheard (quoted the same line; the Sheard family staged the Shakespeare production)Dan (Dave's father-in-law — never trusted a man who works with music on in the background)Josef Pieper ("the peepster" — Adam's favorite German philosopher)Bob Ross (Dave's aspirational painting instructor)Lady Haylee MinihanLady Pamela NilesPrograms & Institutions:Clear Creek AbbeyHallow (prayer app — Jim uses it; not a sponsor)M6 Marketing (Adam's company)SPONSOR BLOCKSponsor: Select International Tours — selectinternationaltours.comWhen Adam and Dave decided to lead their first pilgrimage, one name kept coming up: Select International Tours. They're the best. Having used them, the guys can vouch for it. Wherever in the world you want to go, Select has a tour ready. Whether you're looking to lead a pilgrimage or attend one, head to selectinternationaltours.com and see everything they offer. You won't regret it.Support the show: patreon.com/thecatholicmanshow — Patreon gifts are shipping out again, and the Catholic Man Show Glencairn glass is being paused soon (maybe back around Christmas). If you want one, become a patron now — you've got about four minutes.
To learn more about coaching, visit here: https://www.seekingexcellence.us/Most Christians misunderstand the true purpose of wealth—and that misunderstanding can trap you in a life of financial struggle or misguided arrogance. Nathan Crankfield exposes how the modern obsession with poverty or prosperity isn't the Christian virtue it's often claimed to be, but instead a balance rooted in love, stewardship, and purpose.In this compelling episode, Nathan rewires your perspective on money by breaking down the myth that humility or ambition alone define a virtuous life. You'll discover why true Christian wealth isn't about accumulation or self-denial but about purposefully aligning your finances with your calling.We dive into the “virtue of the mean”, a concept from Aristotle through Aquinas, explaining how virtue with money exists in a healthy middle ground: provision as an act of love, not a pursuit of status or avoidance of responsibility. Nathan shares real-life examples about the risks of both making money an idol or treating it as inherently suspect, and how spiritualized poverty can undermine your family's well-being.
Are Aliens Demons, Our Cosmic Neighbors, or Something Stranger? Host Curtis Chang and author Andy Crouch explore the theological implications of UFOs, extraterrestrial life, and the possibility that humans are not the only created beings in the cosmos. They ask whether aliens should be understood as material creatures, angels and demons, image bearers, or cosmic neighbors—and what Scripture, Christian theology, and even Aquinas suggest about our human uniqueness. Along the way, they consider whether first contact would reveal Christian love, humility, and wonder—or our instinct toward fear and domination. 00:47 - Introduction to Alien Life and Declassified UFO Reports 02:19 - Do Aliens Exist? 08:32 - The Value of Pondering Alien Life 13:02 - Aliens vs. Angels and Demons 23:18 - God's Mysterious Creatures in Scripture 27:42 - The Octopus Dilemma and Human Specialness 38:26 - Missional Work and Alien Life? 44:26 - The Nature of God's Love 48:49 - Domination or Love : The Human Response to Aliens 50:58 - Andy Imagines Worshipping with Cosmic Neighbors Turn on Apple Podcasts Automatic Downloads: Go to the Settings app on your iPhone. Tap Apps, then tap Podcasts. Tap Automatically Download, then tap an option. Tip: To automatically download episodes from a particular podcast, go to the Podcasts app on your iPhone, tap Library, then tap Shows. Touch and hold the show, then tap Settings. Tap Automatically Download to limit automatic downloads to a certain number of episodes or a timeframe. Sign up for the Anxiety Opportunity Course Use the code: Goodfaith Scriptures Referenced: Job 1–2 (ESV) Job 38–41 (ESV) Genesis 1–2 (ESV) Genesis 4 (ESV) Ephesians 2 (ESV) 2 Peter 1:4 (ESV) Romans 8 (ESV) Isaiah 11 (ESV) Romans 10 (ESV) Mentioned in This Episode: UFO-related declassified files UAP disclosure Meghan Sullivan and Notre Dame's DELTA project What is the Fermi paradox? Eleanor Stump's Wandering in Darkness: Narrative and the Problem of Suffering C.S. Lewis's Perelandra Andy Weir's Project Hail Mary: A Novel A scene from Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind A scene from Steven Spielberg's E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial A scene from Denis Villeneuve's Arrival St. Thomas Aquinas's Summa Theologica: reason / will / dominion Salvation as Theosis: The Teaching of Eastern Orthodoxy (article) Isaiah's peaceable kingdom Thunderbird in Native American traditions Do octopus brains work like humans'? (article) Pythagoras and Johannes Kepler's Musica Universalis or the Music of the Spheres More From Andy Crouch: Check out Andy's website Check out Andy's work at Praxis Read Andy's book: The Life We're Looking For Follow Us: Good Faith on Instagram Good Faith on X (formerly Twitter) Good Faith on Facebook The Good Faith Podcast is a production of a 501(c)(3) nonpartisan organization that does not engage in any political campaign activity to support or oppose any candidate for public office. Any views and opinions expressed by any guests on this program are solely those of the individuals and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of Good Faith.
Stephanie Rousselle and guest Dr. Alan Noble discuss living well in today's world by reclaiming forgotten Christian virtues. Drawing from Noble's book, To Live Well, let's consider practical steps Christians can take to thrive amid cultural confusion.According to Noble, we're surrounded by an overwhelming cacophony of voices (social media, celebrities, self-help gurus, even misguided pastors), each offering conflicting advice on how to live a meaningful life. This deluge of ideas leaves many—Christians included—feeling anxious, overwhelmed, and directionless. The key challenge: how do we discern a coherent, godly way of living amid so many broken narratives?Noble suggests reclaiming classic virtues—time-honored character strengths rooted in Christian tradition and Scripture—as a path toward living well. He points out that Protestants, in particular, have neglected these virtues, though historically theologians like Augustine, Aquinas, and Calvin all upheld their value.Practicing these virtues is not about earning favor with God. Instead, Christians live out virtue in grateful response to God's grace, relying on the Spirit's power, and always within community, where we are supported, challenged, and forgiven when we fail.So, let's consider 3 of the 7 virtues Alan Noble offers in his book.1. Prudence (choosing decisively)Prudence means choosing decisively and wisely. In a world obsessed with limitless choice, prudence involves slowing down, humbly discerning reality, seeking what truly glorifies God, deliberate decision-making, and resolute action. Prudence guards against both indecision (paralysis) and the sunk-cost fallacy—stubbornly sticking with poor choices out of pride or prior investment.2. Fortitude (Suffering steadfastly)Modern culture avoids suffering at all costs, but Noble explains that fortitude is about the courage to endure or risk suffering for the sake of the good. Suffering, rightly faced, builds character and produces hope—connecting deeply to the sanctifying work God does in His people. Fortitude enables Christians to move through hardship, trusting that even suffering has purpose.Magnanimity is boldly living into the excellence and gifts God has given, for His glory and the good of others. Pusillanimity, by contrast, is timidity—hiding or burying your God-given talents out of fear. As illustrated in the parable of the talents, God calls each believer to step out in faith and use their gifts with courage.3. Temperance (living moderately)Temperance is the willful restraint from doing everything you can do, especially when surrounded with endless technological, social, and material options. Choosing not to indulge every impulse, but to order choices for God's glory, is countercultural but vital for soul health.When we reorder our perspectives around these timeless virtues, we move from confusion and anxiety toward clarity, purpose, and peace—living as God intended, by His grace and for His glory.ApplicationSelf-examine: Where do you feel confused or pressured by the “heap of broken images” in your life?Practice virtues: Choose to cultivate prudence, fortitude, magnanimity, and temperance, seeking wisdom, courage, excellence, and self-control in daily choices.Pursue community: Remember that virtue grows in fellowship with others; seek relationships that encourage and hold you accountable.Rest in grace: When you fail, rely on God's grace and learn from your mistakes. Embrace the freedom found in Christ's finished work.MORE ABOUT “TO LIVE WELL”You were told to live a meaningful life. But no one ever told you how.Our lives are shaped by contradictions. Competing voices tell us who to be, what to want, and how to live. The result? A fragmented moral imagination. We're handed a thousand broken messages and left to cobble together something resembling a life. But instead of clarity, we get exhaustion. Instead of wisdom, we get anxiety.This leaves you asking yourself How can I get through when I feel alone and confused? How can I live well in this broken and chaotic world?In To Live Well, Alan Noble shows you how you can not only endure but flourish in life. Through exploring the seven virtues of prudence, justice, fortitude, temperance, faith, hope, and love, you'll learn how tochoose gracefully,act justly,suffer steadfastly,live moderately,believe soundly,hope resolutely, andlove rightly.This book won't give you a ten-step plan to fix everything. It doesn't promise clarity overnight. But it will invite you into something deeper: an ancient, time-tested path of habits of heart and mind that shape who we are and how we live.With honesty, theological depth, and a mentor's heart, Noble names your confusion and offers an antidote―not by escaping the mess but by learning how to live faithfully within it. If you've ever longed for something solid in a world that just wants to sell you more temporary stuff, To Live Well is a good place to begin.Do you feel the pain and pressure of spiritual exhaustion? Do you feel unworthy despite consistent effort? Do you lack joy in your personal faith? Do you desire practical, daily rhythms that sustain delight in God? That's why I wrote "Awaken Delight." It will help you (re)discover:1-Delight in God is identity-shaping, not emotion-driven. Delight in God is not fleeting emotion but resilient identity.2-Delight in God is altogether trust, satisfaction in God, relational intimacy with Him. Delight in God is often expressed and grown through resilient joy under suffering.3-Jesus is the center of every endeavor to delight in God.These are some of the truths we ponder together through my book, Awaken Delight."Awaken Delight" is a theologically grounded spiritual formation book for thoughtful believers who feel spiritually fatigued, and ready to embrace the reality of delight in God.Find out more at https://www.gospelspice.com/awakendelight Support us on Gospel Spice, PayPal and Venmo!
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit andrewsullivan.substack.comHarvey is a political philosopher. He's been on the faculty at Harvard since 1962, and he's currently the William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of Government. His 13 books include Taming the Prince, Manliness, and Machiavelli's Effectual Truth. His new book is The Rise and Fall of Rational Control: The History of Modern Political Philosophy. Harvey was my tutor as a graduate student at Harvard, an overseer of my dissertation, and I was a teaching fellow for the course in modern political thought that his latest book reprises brilliantly. To be honest, my reverence for him made me nervous for this podcast. But his brilliance and dry humor and joie de vivre all came through, and he put me at ease.For two clips of the episode — on the shift from virtue to freedom during the Enlightenment, and how Nietzsche reframed the West — head to our YouTube page.Other topics: raised by New Deal liberals in New Haven and DC; his dad a Yale professor and mom a musician; Leo Strauss an academic mentor; thymos and masculinity; Plato's Apology of Socrates; Aristotle; Aquinas; why democracy leads to tyranny; the humor of Machiavelli; Spinoza and dissent; Locke's Two Treatises; the incest prohibition; Hegel; Hobbes; common sense; Nietzsche and nihilism; deconstructing Christianity; science as a product of “white supremacy”; the sex binary; de Beauvoir's Second Sex; the postmodern view of science; Rawls; AI and human obsolescence; grade inflation; Judith Shklar and her love of Montaigne; Oakeshott; anti-semitism on campus after 10/7; and how moderns set aside the deepest questions.Browse the Dishcast archive for an episode you might enjoy. We have some real stars coming up: Ben Rhodes on Iran and speech-writing, HW Brands on the life of George Washington, John Gray on Trump's new world, Bob Wright on the evolutionary force of AI, Tiffany Jenkins on privacy in a liberal democracy, Daniel McCarthy on conservatism, Stephen Grosz on the struggles of love, and Robby George on all our disagreements. Please send any guest recs, dissents, and other comments to dish@andrewsullivan.com.
Dave's been throwing parties. Three in four days. Confirmation sponsor for a friend's son, family and friends over the next night, and then — because the universe has a sense of humor — some local gentleman decided to remodel Dave's brick mailbox. With his truck. At speed. Bricks were found over a hundred feet away. The guy left his license plate behind, which Dave is now holding like a man who accidentally picked up evidence and doesn't know what to do with it. The driver's fine. Well — he's in jail. But he's alive. Dave wants him to know that God's mercy is always ready and present, even for the man who turned a brand-new brick mailbox into gravel.Meanwhile, Adam got a new plum tree. Planted a maple. He's getting oaks for the pig pen so they'll drop acorns someday. One of his chickens died in a water barrel trap that nobody designed on purpose — the lid flipped, the chicken couldn't get out. Farm life. And then the real news: baby Mary is doing better. Haylee got to hold her. Adam held her for over three hours — only his second time since she was born in February. Three months of NICU, and the man finally got to just sit with his daughter. Praise God. Keep those prayers coming.Also — Adam's turning 40 on June 2nd. And Lady Pamela is due with their next baby on June 4th. They floated the idea of recording an episode in the delivery room. Pamela has not been consulted.This week we're sipping 13th Colony Distilleries Southern Rye Whiskey, French Oak Finish, Small Batch — 47.5% ABV. Platinum award-winning. Silky texture with hints of rye, apricot, and brown sugar. The rye's there but it doesn't overpower — still has a lot of bourbon elements to it. About forty bucks. That's a great buy.Then the conversation turns to something Adam's son Jude sparked. Jude — Adam's second oldest — just finished reading the entire Bible, Genesis through Revelation, straight through. Now he's reading the Council of Trent Catechism. He's a kid. Nobody told him to do this. He just had good books lying around the house and picked them up. That's the whole point.The virtue of study — studiositas — isn't what school taught us it was. It's not cramming. It's not memorizing facts to dump after the test. Aquinas calls it a habit of the mind ordered towards truth. Classical education at its best doesn't fill your head — it forms the way you think. The more you read rightly, the more you can arrive at correct conclusions through a sound process, not just recall. Study leads to contemplation. Contemplation is rest in truth. And it's not about finishing the book. If you're reading to check the box, you've already lost the plot. Sit with it. Let yourself be carried. The intellectual life doesn't compete with the family — it serves the family.From there, Adam and Dave go back and forth on the books that actually formed them. Adam leads with Joseph Pieper's In Tune with the World — a short, devastating argument for why festivity dies when we strip the divine out of celebration. Dave counters with The Soul of the Apostolate — the book that reordered his understanding of what has to come first before any ministry means anything. Adam brings John Senior's The Restoration of Christian Culture — hard opinions, harder truths, and a quote worth sitting with: the virtue of study requires a canon, a body of great works proven across time. Without tradition to guide what's worth studying, you're just chasing novelty.Dave goes deep on Fr. Timothy Gallagher's The Discernment of Spirits — a practical walkthrough of St. Ignatius's rules that shed light on the stages of the spiritual life and how the enemy shifts tactics as you grow. Adam responds with Raymond Arroyo's biography of Mother Angelica — a story of suffering, faithfulness, and a woman who said yes without knowing where it would lead. Dave makes a case for the Psalms — Psalm 51, the De Profundis in Latin, and the realization that there's a psalm for every moment of a man's life, and he'd been skimming past them for years.Adam goes deep cut: Fr. Paul Murray's Aquinas at Prayer — a book that reoriented his understanding of St. Thomas from pure intellect to contemplative soul. Dave brings Divine Mercy in My Soul by St. Faustina — hundreds of pages of our Lord's words on mercy that are sometimes scandalously generous. Adam throws in Simon Sinek's Start with Why as the non-Catholic book that changed how he thought about business, marriage, and fatherhood. Both men land on fiction that haunts them — Adam with Sigrid Undset's Kristin Lavransdatter, Dave with Candice Millard's Hero of the Empire on young Churchill. They touch on Lencioni's Five Dysfunctions of a Team, Gone with the Wind, the bishop chapters of Les Misérables, Neil Postman's Amusing Ourselves to Death, and close with John Senior's Thousand Good Books — the canon itself, the list that connects it all.They end where they always end: with Plato. They're halfway through the Republic in their great books group. David sits on the dumb couch. He knows he sits on the dumb couch. He's fine with it.Raise your glass.TOPICS COVEREDDave's brick mailbox obliterated by a truck — bricks found 100 feet away, driver in jail, license plate left behindThree parties in four days at Porter Prairie: confirmation, family gathering, and involuntary demolitionDave building a grain cradle for his scythe for the upcoming grain harvestAdam's new plum tree, maple tree, and oak trees planned for the pig penThe chicken that died in a water barrel trap nobody designed on purposeBaby Mary update — doing better, Adam held her for three hours, Haylee held her tooAdam turning 40 on June 2nd and Lady Pamela due June 4thBourbon of the week: 13th Colony Distilleries Southern Rye Whiskey, French Oak Finish, 47.5% ABVJude Minihan reading the entire Bible and now the Council of Trent Catechism — and nobody told him toWhy having good books lying around the house matters more than assigned readingThe virtue of studiositas — Aquinas on study as a habit of the mind ordered towards truthStudy isn't cramming — it's forming the way we think, not filling our headsWhy finishing the book isn't the point — sit with it, let yourself be carriedThe intellectual life doesn't compete with family — it serves the familyJoseph Pieper's In Tune with the World — why festivity dies without the divineThe Soul of the Apostolate — what has to come first before any ministry mattersJohn Senior's The Restoration of Christian Culture — hard opinions and the necessity of a canonFr. Timothy Gallagher's The Discernment of Spirits — St. Ignatius's rules made practicalRaymond Arroyo's biography of Mother Angelica — suffering, faithfulness, and saying yesThe Psalms as treasure — Psalm 51, the De Profundis in Latin, and why Dave had been skimming past themFr. Paul Murray's Aquinas at Prayer — reorienting Aquinas from intellect to contemplativeSt. Faustina's Divine Mercy in My Soul — mercy so generous it's almost scandalousSimon Sinek's Start with Why — a non-Catholic book that changed everythingSigrid Undset's Kristin Lavransdatter — fiction that haunts you because it doesn't read like fictionCandice Millard's Hero of the Empire — young Churchill before the cigar and the brandyPatrick Lencioni's Five Dysfunctions of a Team — why hard conversations are acts of charityGone with the Wind — Rhett Butler as a man whose virtues take a lifetime to findThe bishop chapters of Les Misérables — Hugo's best character, written by a man who wasn't even a fan of the ChurchNeil Postman's Amusing Ourselves to Death — prophetic in 1985, terrifying nowJohn Senior's Thousand Good Books — the canon that connects all the great worksThe Count of Monte Cristo as a commentary on Dante's InfernoPlato's dialogues — the Republic, Euthyphro, the Symposium, and why you need a great books groupAdam sits on the dumb couch at great books night and he's fine with itREFERENCED IN THIS EPISODEBooks & Writings:In Tune with the World: A Theory on Festivity by Joseph PieperLeisure, the Basis of Culture by Joseph Pieper (mentioned)The Intellectual Life by A.G. SertillangesThe Soul of the Apostolate (Dave's pick)The Restoration of Christian Culture by John SeniorThe Death of Christian Culture by John Senior (mentioned)The Discernment of Spirits by Fr. Timothy Gallagher (based on St. Ignatius's rules)Mother Angelica: The Remarkable Story of a Nun, Her Nerve, and a Network by Raymond ArroyoAquinas at Prayer by Fr. Paul Murray, O.P.Divine Mercy in My Soul by St. Maria FaustinaStart with Why by Simon SinekKristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid UndsetAnna Karenina by Leo TolstoyThe Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick LencioniGone with the Wind by Margaret MitchellHero of the Empire: The Boer War, a...
Formal vs. material cooperation with evil, Aquinas' Quinque Viae and the Christian God, prayer and more on today's Called to Communion with Dr. David Anders.
Can demons hear your thoughts? A lot of Christians assume the answer is yes—but what if that assumption actually confuses what belongs to God alone? In this episode, we dive into Thomas Aquinas' fascinating argument that angels and demons cannot directly read the human mind or will. They can observe, infer, tempt, and influence—but they do not have direct access to your inner thoughts. Only God does. We explore why this matters for spiritual warfare, human freedom, temptation, prayer, and the uniqueness of God himself. Along the way, Aquinas dismantles some common Christian assumptions and offers a surprisingly comforting vision of the human person: your mind is not an open spiritual battlefield. Support the Podcast Support us on Patreon Website: thatllpreach.io IG: thatllpreachpodcast YouTube Channel
Could Jesus have been an alien using advanced technology—and how can Christians know that's not true? In this episode of Catholic Answers Live, Jimmy Akin tackles some of the strangest and most fascinating questions listeners have ever asked. He explains whether receiving Communion affects Ash Wednesday fasting rules, what kinds of abilities resurrected bodies may have, and why theories about Jesus as an extraterrestrial don't hold up historically or theologically. The discussion also explores why Rome is called the Church founded by Christ despite Jerusalem coming first chronologically, whether dinosaur cancer challenges traditional understandings of the Fall, and what Christians should think about pets and the end times. A fun and thoughtful episode blending theology, science, apologetics, and the unusual questions Jimmy Akin is famous for addressing. Join the Catholic Answers Live Club Newsletter Invite our apologists to speak at your parish! Visit Catholicanswersspeakers.com Questions Covered: 04:04 – In the case of Ash Wednesday, when fasting and abstinence are required, would receiving communion break one’s fast or count as a smaller meal? In other words, can one receive communion in addition to eating one full meal and two smaller meals? Thanks, Jimmy! 12:24 – Hi Jimmy. You’ve previously mentioned Aquinas and the possibility that humans have low-level psychic ability.. Will our resurrected body have other abilities, such as telekinesis or telepathy? Will I be able to fly like Superman? Jesus ascended, and there are stories about Saints “levitating”, so will the body get any potential flying or levitating abilities, or what other abilities might we get? 23:48 – How can we be sure that Jesus wasn't actually an alien talking about his “father in heaven” who is actually in outer space and his spaceship is actually his kingdom? And the eternal life that we get from following Jesus to his kingdom is from advanced alien technology that keeps you alive forever? And the immaculate conception was by an alien that performed IVF on Mary, and the “angels” in the Bible are actually all just aliens too? This question has really been the only thing challenging my faith, even though it seems preposterous. 40:59 – How is the Church of Rome considered “the first church” or “the church that Christ founded”, when (chronologically) the first church was in Jerusalem? 44:38 – I watched a video with a young earth creationist who claimed that there are dinosaur fossils that show evidence of cancer, which was, in his opinion, proof that dinosaurs existed after the fall because cancer wouldn’t have existed until after the fall. The question has kind of bothered me ever since. If dinosaurs went extinct before humans existed, why would they have had cancer? 50:22 – What will happen to our pets after the Rapture?
In a world of loud moral arguments and social-media slogans, real precision often gets lost. In this three-part series, Greg unpacks one of the most attractive features of Catholic moral theology: its remarkable clarity around evil as a privation (not a substance), intrinsically evil acts, prudential judgment, and authentic development of doctrine. Episode 1, “The Anatomy of Evil,” explores how human actions are good in their being yet can be morally disordered in their object—drawing on Aquinas, C.S. Lewis's “bent” imagery, and concrete examples like homosexual activity and direct abortion. Episode 2 lays out the practical schematics the Church has refined for two thousand years: universal principles, absolute norms, positive obligations, prudence, and Newman-style development (including the language of “inadmissible”). Episode 3 applies those tools to four relatable everyday cases—money lending and usury, lying versus legitimate deception, disciplining children (spanking), and gambling—showing exactly how Catholics can reason faithfully through complex situations with both intellectual honesty and pastoral charity. SUPPORT THIS SHOW Considering Catholicism is 100% listener-supported. If this podcast has helped you on your journey, please become a patron today! For as little as $5/month you get: • Every regular episode ad-free and organized into topical playlists • Exclusive bonus content (extra Q&As, Deep-Dive courses, live streams, and more) • My deepest gratitude and a growing community of like-minded listeners ➡️ Join now: https://patreon.com/consideringcatholicism (or tap the Patreon link in your podcast app) One-time gift: Donate with PayPal! CONNECT WITH US • Website & contact form: https://consideringcatholicism.com • Email: consideringcatholicism@gmail.com • Leave a comment on Patreon (I read every one!) RATE & REVIEW If you enjoy the show, please leave a rating (and even better, a review) on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen — it really helps new listeners find us. SHARE THE SHOW Know someone who's curious about Catholicism? Send them a link or share an episode on social media. Thank you! Christus vincit, Christus regnat, Christus imperat.
Fr. Ambrose Dobrozsi, Dr. Kevin Clarke, and Dr. Jane Peters discuss an overlooked work of St. Thomas Aquinas: His Catena Aurea. This commentary on the Gospels is a "golden chain" of patristic citations worked into a single commentary on the Gospels. How does St. Thomas handle when the Fathers he quotes disagree? How does the Catena relate to St. Thomas' other works and the study of his thought? Listen and find out!
This week we're continuing down the Sheldrake path with The Physics of Angels by Matthew Fox and Rupert Sheldrake, where a theologian and a scientist try to make sense of angels in a modern context. Pulling from figures like Aquinas and Hildegard, we explore whether these “beings” might actually point to forms of intelligence or organization we still don't fully understand. Whether you buy it or not, it's a solid look at how our view of reality might be a lot more limited than we think. Welcome to this banger Plus+ Extension! The long awaited uber saga that is From the Mundane to the Magnificent is at hand! This remarkably fun story is very much an epic tale loaded with insights that will take your mind off of the nonsense found littered about this so called “reality”. Part one offers us instructions for leaving the restrictive body for astral exploration, a new look at the Earth and solar system only to bring it all home by shrinking to the size of an atom, and stopping to have a chin wag with a cell offering their interpretation of life from their perspective. Thank you for being on Plus+ with us! Sit back and enjoy a fresh perspective that could change everything about your Youniverse and unlock hidden potential within yourcelf. The Physics of Angels: Exploring the Realm Where Science and Spirit Meet From the Mundane to the Magnificent - Vera Stanley Alder LinksPlus+ ExtensionThe extension of the show is EXCLUSIVE to Plus+ Members. To join. click HERE.Links Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Patrick opens with a listener’s raw question about whether animals have souls and a place in heaven, reflecting on classic Catholic teaching and insights from Aquinas and Augustine. He answers calls about resurrected bodies, incense at Mass, saging offices, and the spiritual usefulness of suffering, weaving stories, doctrine, and real-life doubts together in unexpected ways. Ordinary faith and grief come face-to-face with theology, ritual, and the curious details of daily life. Kathryn (email) - Do animals have souls? (01:36) Greg - Why are our physical bodies necessary after we die? (20:57) Faith - Eileen George was taken up into heaven and Jesus showed her the pony she had as a child. There are animals in heaven. (28:50) Claire (email) - Thank you for all you do, for your compassion, empathy and your sincerity when responding to Shelly (during yesterday’s show). (31:23) Aimee (email) - At times I even find myself associating suffering with holiness in a way that makes me question if I’m missing something spiritually. (33:18) Teresa (email) – My boss is using sage in our shared workspace (38:31) David (email) - Would it be better to not attend daily mass at all than to arrive to mass late or leave right after communion? (44:05) Todd - I own multiple spas and we burn sage, but we don't burn them for occult reasons. We use it for aroma. (48:23)
“What can angels do for us?” This question opens a discussion on the role of angels in our daily lives, including how they might help us feel more connected to our guardian angels. Other topics include the nature of angelic communication with the deceased, the reasons behind God’s creation of angels, and the intriguing portrayal of angels in art versus scripture. Join the Catholic Answers Live Club Newsletter Invite our apologists to speak at your parish! Visit Catholicanswersspeakers.com Questions Covered: 02:10 – What Can Angels Do in our Daily Lives? 12:55 – My grandparents died in 2006. Can my grandparents communicate with me through angels? SENDS Secrets from heaven. 17:59 – How can you feel more connected to your guardian angel? 22:05 – Do we know why God created angels? 29:39 – Do angels give grace, or help in distributing graces? 33:32 – Can you comment on why angels are portrayed in art as little babies with wings, but in the Bible they seem like they would actually be frightening? 36:14 – Can you comment on the angels' reaction in the book of Job? 44:35 – When we say the prayer to our guardian angel, ever this day be “at my side,” what does that really mean since angels are in heaven? 48:20 – How do our guardian angels protect us? The way the Bible describes them it seems like they would be too big. 50:04 – What do I call my guardian angel? 51:52 – Aquinas says angels don't know your thoughts. If that is true then how do guardian angels know what you are thinking?
Episode Topic: Religious Epistemology How can the humblest among us invert traditional hierarchies by sensing truth through deep faith? Lessons on the Eucharist deepen our sense of God living within us while trusting God's word secures belief in His power. Hear the call to reflect on these ideas to see your own journey to God from a fresh perspective.Featured Speakers:Noah Karger, University of Notre DameMats Wahlberg, Umeå University (Sweden)Daniel Gordon '24 Ph.D., Ave Maria UniversityRead this episode's recap over on the University of Notre Dame's open online learning community platform, ThinkND: https://go.nd.edu/d36e91. This podcast is a part of the ThinkND Series titled Aquinas at 800. Thanks for listening! The ThinkND Podcast is brought to you by ThinkND, the University of Notre Dame's online learning community. We connect you with videos, podcasts, articles, courses, and other resources to inspire minds and spark conversations on topics that matter to you — everything from faith and politics, to science, technology, and your career.Learn more about ThinkND and register for upcoming live events at think.nd.edu.Join our LinkedIn community for updates, episode clips, and more.
In Part 10 of our Islamification of America series, Pastor Stephen Martin, Pastor Nate Brown, and Pastor Daniel Hayworth tackle one of the most pressing theological questions of our day: when is war just? Listen as they walk through Augustine's foundational framework from City of God, Thomas Aquinas's expansion into seven criteria, and how Scripture from Romans 13 to Deuteronomy 20 lays out God's design for justice, government, and the protection of innocent life.Hear how the seven criteria — legitimate authority, just cause, right intention, last resort, proportionality, discrimination, and reasonable chance of success — apply to the Crusades, modern Israel, the conflict with Iran, and even Hiroshima. Perfect for your morning commute, workout, or any moment you need to think biblically about real-world conflict.You'll Learn:✅ Why Christian pacifism doesn't hold up to Scripture✅ The proper context for "turn the other cheek"✅ The biblical foundation for self-defense and protecting family✅ How to evaluate any war using the seven-criteria framework✅ Why Augustine and Aquinas still matter for today's ChristiansSubscribe and follow for new episodes Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 7 AM CT.
Bible StudyDon't just take our word for it . . . take His! We would encourage you to spend time examining the following Scriptures that shaped this sermon: .Sermon OutlineThe Nature of IndifferenceThe Danger of PrideThe Face of the ShepherdSermon QuestionsRemember the mine owner who views his workers only as tools to extract wealth? In what ways do we sometimes mistakenly view God as a cosmic tyrant or a slavedriver?Spiritual indifference is often a scrupulously constructed wall built to protect ourselves from God. What "lifestyle features" do you think we use most often to insulate our hearts from God's reach?We all carry a deep ache, yet fear that if we open that ache to God, we might find Him to be a "wolf" waiting to rebuke us. Why is it so hard to trust that God is a Good Shepherd, not a thief waiting to "steal, kill, and destroy”?The sermon says that Jesus is not a tyrant waiting at the top of the tunnel to kick us, but the "corpse at the bottom of the pit" and the "sacrifice that is the ladder" leading us out. How does this specific vision of Christ change your perspective on your own struggles and "failed resolutions"?Resources ConsultedJohn Hemming, The Conquest of the Incas (Harvest, 1970)Augustine, Tractates on the Gospel of John, Tractate 45John Chrysostom, Homilies on the Gospel of John, Homily 59Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on the Gospel of St John, Lectures 1–2David Ford, The Gospel of John: A Theological Commentary (Baker Academic, 2021)Matthew Levering, "Augustine and Aquinas on the Good Shepherd: The Value of an Exegetical Tradition," in Michael Dauphinais et al (eds.), Aquinas the Augustinian (CUA, 2007)Charles Taylor, "Buffered and Porous Selves"Questions?Do you have a question about today's sermon? Email Sam Fornecker ().
So... between Cabot Phillips and his Joseph Smith rants, to Pints with Aquinas and "Burning Books"... does the Daily Wire even want Latter-Day Saint subscribers?
Dave's cows got out again.The gate was shut. Just not latched. There's a difference — a difference Dave now knows in vivid detail, courtesy of the Broken Arrow Police Department and at least one very stressed heifer on the turnpike. Nobody died. The cows are back. The neighborhood is bonded. And apparently this is just a tradition they keep at Niles Ranch and Fecundity Farm.This week Adam and Dave sat down with a glass of Dancing Panda — a straight Kentucky bourbon, eight years, 100 proof, with an unexpected apple-cinnamon finish — and got into someone most Catholics have heard of but few have actually read: St. Bonaventure.Before you dive in: Adam's daughter Mary is in the hospital. Her lungs keep deflating. The situation is hour by hour. Please pray for her.St. Bonaventure is, in a word, underrated. He was the Franciscan answer to Aquinas — less systematic, more contemplative, every bit as deep. Best friends with Thomas Aquinas. Minister General of the Franciscan Order. Seraphic Doctor. Second founder of the Franciscans. The man who, when Aquinas read his contribution to the Mass reform aloud, said "That's perfect. There's no need for mine" — and meant it.The book on the table is Holiness of Life, published by Coriaceous Press. Written to a Poor Clare nun. Short — you can finish it in an afternoon. Dense — you'll carry it for a long time after.Bonaventure lays out a ladder. Self-knowledge first. Then humility. Then poverty. Then silence. Then prayer, the remembrance of Christ's passion, perfect love of God, and final perseverance. Adam and Dave cover the first four.Self-knowledge is not a journaling exercise. It's a brutal, honest accounting of where you actually are — seeing your dignity as an image of God and your misery as a sinner, both at the same time, clearly. Bonaventure names three root causes of sin: negligence, passion, and malice. He also gives you a mirror: are your interior promptings pulling toward pleasure, curiosity, or vanity? Most of us don't have to think long.Humility follows — because you can't see yourself honestly and still puff up. Bonaventure says humility is the guardian and foundation of all virtues. To excel in virtue without humility is to carry dust before the wind. If pride is the root of every sin, humility is the root of every virtue. And Adam drops the Aquinas line that's worth writing on a wall: A man is truly wealthy when he lacks nothing that he truly needs for salvation.Poverty, in Bonaventure's framing, isn't about being broke. It's about holy detachment. The unburdening of the soul so you can actually run toward Christ. We're not trying to anchor ourselves in this world. The more you sink your teeth into worldly things, the less you can sink your soul into heavenly ones.And then silence. Not just quiet in the house — interior silence. Bonaventure says poverty and silence are twins. Those appetites you feed don't just cost you. They're loud. They lie. They drown out everything you need to hear about who you actually are.Bonaventure wrote: "Silence has another advantage. It shows that man belongs to a better world. If a man lives in Germany and yet does not speak German, we naturally conclude that he is not German. So too, we rightly conclude that a man who does not give himself up to worldly conversation is not of the world, although he lives therein."That'll stay with you.Topics covered in this episode:Dave's cows, the Broken Arrow Police Department, and the difference between shut and latchedWho St. Bonaventure actually was — and why he's been undersold for centuriesWhy Bonaventure is called the Seraphic Doctor and the second founder of the FranciscansThe four-part structure of Holiness of Life: self-knowledge, humility, poverty, silenceThe three root causes of sin: negligence, passion, maliceWhy holiness costs everything — and there's no negotiating a discountHumility as the guardian and foundation of all virtueThe Aquinas line on what real wealth actually isPoverty as holy detachment — practical application for married men with mortgagesWhy poverty and silence are twins — how attachment to things creates interior noiseThe German analogy for silence: belonging to a better worldStoic meditation vs. Christian prayer — why entering into yourself is not the same thingSelf-knowledge as an ongoing relationship with our Lord, not a box to checkFulton Sheen's Emmy speech and Mother Teresa — what God actually usesFinal perseverance — and why Adam wants it more than anything elseReferenced in this episode:Holiness of Life — St. Bonaventure St. Thomas Aquinas — the Mass reform story and the quote on true wealthSt. Bernard — on humility and exact self-knowledgeSt. Francis of Assisi — and why he deserves a better reputationFulton Sheen, Mother Teresa — as examples of God using the truly humbleCor Jesu PressSponsor: Select International Tours — selectinternationaltours.com Whether you want to lead a pilgrimage or join one, Select is who you call. Adam and Dave have used them. The real deal.Patreon note: Catholic Glencairn glasses are still available for $10/month supporters — but not for much longer. Jim Spencer needs a break. If you want one, now is the time.
Traditional Thomists are normally unfriendly to Henri De Lubac, but today's guest, Fr. Cajetan Cuddy points out that Thomists are very indebted to De Lubac and should join him on the battlefield. Fr. Cajetan Cuddy is a Dominican priest, scholar, and Youtuber who recently presented at the De Lubac conference hosted by the John Paul II Institute on Marriage and the Family. He joins us today to talk about De Lubac and his critical insight into the rise of constructive atheism. Fr. Cuddy and Ben Eriksen talk about De Lubac's response to this new threat to the human person. They also discuss the tendency of academics and intellectuals to focus too exclusively on the academic end of writing and researching while ignoring the search for truth and God who is much more than an intellectual principle. Their conversation not only provides insights into our modern culture but also demonstrates the crucial overlap between intellectual inquiry and one's lived experience. Get your copy of De Lubac's works here: https://ignatius.com/authors/henri-de-lubac/ More Information on the De Lubac Film here: https://delubacfilm.com/ Check out these great resources! Encyclopedia of Catholic Theology: https://www.ect.org/ Fr. Cuddy's The Summa Illuminated: https://www.avemariapress.com/products/summa-illuminated?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=854456861&gbraid=0AAAAADdiBebIlNJ4UusJp8GJ6mNI0XOiJ&gclid=CjwKCAjwnZfPBhAGEiwAzg-VzF8ZR9142z_IY6Alwvf7oCVPhu6UZUNhsvXYZmSthwhJEo_8dpEPixoCyCsQAvD_BwE Fr. Cuddy's ETC YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@catholictheology Aquinas's Cathedral Image by Owen Cyclops: --https://owen-cyclops.myshopify.com/collections/featured/products/the-summa-theologica-cathedral-print-unframed-24-x-36-inches --https://www.etsy.com/listing/4460233907/the-summa-theologica-cathedral-print?sr_prefetch=1&pf_from=shop_home&ref=shop_home_active_4&pro=1&logging_key=b0acf032fea8c8acba7988ad6f2b5bfa8f72f035%3A4460233907 SUBSCRIBE to our channel and never miss an episode of the Ignatius Press Podcast. You can also listen to the podcast on Apple, Spotify, and other podcast platforms. Follow us on social media: Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/IgnatiusPress Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ignatiuspress Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ignatius_press/ Music from Pexels, Gregor Quendel. https://www.classicals.de/legal
Patrick answers questions on topics ranging from diabolical possession to parish registration, Catholic charities, and immigration through Aquinas’s lens, always keeping the conversation candid and current. He draws a line between spiritual and psychological explanations, addresses ethical concerns about workplace expenses, and examines boundaries in youth ministry when it comes to praying over minors. Throughout, Patrick weighs unrest about Islam’s growth, political upheaval involving the Pope, and patriotism’s place beneath a Catholic identity, urging honesty, faith, and discernment over outrage. Ty – Is there a paranormal aspect to 'gang-stalking'? (00:56) Mary - I think Catholic Charities is not under the Catholic Church. What did Thomas Aquinas say about immigration? We need to follow immigration laws. (07:41) Pete - I worked for Catholic Charities. Catholic Charities was never sold. There are 160 different agencies that all serve a diocese. (15:24) Kirby (email) - A good portion of your callers are delusional (21:14) Tim (email) - Companies do things all the time that are illegal and/or immoral, so personally, I wouldn't use them as my moral compass. Tom - Pope Leo said that Muslims and Christians should live together side by side in peace. Does he understand who Muslims are? The Islam religion is wrong. It’s the only religion where you can get murdered for leaving the faith. (26:10) Paul - Do we have authority to pray over teens in Confirmation class? (33:21) Jared – How, as an American Catholic, do I handle being discouraged by the current administration?
So many clergy members and theology nerds messaged me after JD Vance told the Pope to dial back the theology talk that I had no choice — I called my friend Kevin Carnahan, co-editor of the Journal of the Society of Christian Ethics and author of an extremely technical book on just war theory that he will tell you not to read. Kevin teaches at Central Methodist University in Missouri and he showed up having apparently thought about all of this in serious depth while the rest of us were just screaming into the void. What followed was one of the best episodes we've done. We traced the actual history of just war theory from Aquinas through John XXIII's Pacem in Terris— which moved the Catholic Church so close to pacifism in practice that nearly no war could satisfy its criteria — through the moment nuclear weapons broke the entire framework, through drone warfare and AI targeting that's broken it further, and right up to a Trump administration that dismantled the actual government office dedicated to minimizing civilian harm and then had the audacity to invoke just war theory as a fig leaf. Kevin's read on the papal conflict: the Pope knows exactly what he's doing and is faithfully representing a tradition that JD Vance passed through on Peter Thiel's E-Z Pass lane. We also got into the three streams of Protestant ethics on war — peace churches, just war thinkers, and crusaders — why Hegseth fits cleanly into the crusader category, why Trump fits none of them, why the Lord of the Rings is the best undergraduate ethics text available, and what Bonhoeffer's prayer for his own country's defeat sounds like in 2026. Tripp eventually brought up Tolkien. Bo noted it took an hour and eleven minutes. Bonhoeffer was invoked. John Cobb got in at the end. The trifecta complete. For those regular Homebrewed Christianity listeners, this is an episode of another weekly podcast Theology Nerd Throwdown that I do with Bo Sanders and our (nonviolent) army of theology nerds in the chat. If you enjoy it, subscribe to the TNT feed and feel the lure to join live most Friday mornings. You can WATCH the conversation on YouTube Kevin Carnahan is Professor of Philosophy and Religion at Central Methodist University in Fayette, Missouri.
Catholics complicated? Orthodox vs. Catholics? Aquinas vs. The Immaculate? Join us for Called to Communion with Dr. David Anders.
What does it take to stand firm when everything in you wants to fold — not just on the battlefield, but in the garden at Chelsea, in the courtroom, at the kitchen table with someone you love? In this episode we look at fortitude, what Adam Smith called "the uniquely splendid quality of man," through the eyes of Thomas Aquinas, Aristotle, and some of the most vivid moments in Scripture, literature, and film. We start where the Church starts us this week — with the apostles, sprung from prison by an angel, walking straight back to the temple at dawn to keep preaching. That is fortitude in its purest form. From there we explore why only the vulnerable can be truly brave, why Aquinas says endurance is a harder and nobler act than attack, and why most of what the world calls courage is actually one of five convincing counterfeits. We spend time with Thomas More, standing quiet and unshakeable before the most powerful man in England, and we ask what his daily courage demands of us — not the grand martyrdom, but the ordinary refusal to smile and nod at what is false. Because there is no automatic victory in human affairs. The victory of truth depends, to some considerable extent, on your defense of it.
TRUMP CALLED THE POPE WEAK ON CRIME. POSTED HIMSELF AS JESUS CHRIST. DELETED IT BY MORNING. AND HIS SPIRITUAL ADVISER ASKED CHRISTIANS TO VENMO HER TEN PERCENT OF THEIR INCOME. ALL IN THE SAME WEEKEND. The media wants you to think this is a story about a president attacking a peaceful holy man for no reason. It is not. Pope Leo XIV -- the first American-born pope in history, from Chicago, Illinois -- has spent months wading deeper into American domestic politics, culminating in urging American citizens to call their Congress members and oppose their own president's foreign policy. A foreign head of state. Lobbying American voters. Against their own government. Trump called it what it is. Today we back him up. Plus -- Sabrina Carpenter headlined Coachella, got called Islamophobic for not recognizing a sound she'd never heard in her life, and the internet convicted her before she finished her piano set. The history behind that sound is more interesting than anything the mob has to say about it.
Beth maps out five ways humans understand God and shows most Christians are already in a bucket they've never heard of. Then she goes beneath the standard model of physics to explain what's actually holding all of this together.
Today on Ascend: The Great Books Podcast, Deacon Harrison Garlick explores one of the most striking features of Dante's Inferno: why the poet places liars, flatterers, and the treacherous in the lowest circles of Hell — deeper than murderers, tyrants, suicides, and even blasphemers.Check out our new INSTAGRAM page!Visit THE ASCENT, our sister publication on Substack.We are reading the Odyssey over 12 weeks!Why does Dante rank fraud and treachery as worse sins than violence? What is the spiritual harm of lying? And how is lying profoundly anti-Christ?Deacon Garlick takes listeners on a deep but accessible journey through:The architecture and purpose of Dante's InfernoThe nature of truth and the teleology (purpose) of speechWhy sins against the soul are worse than sins against the bodyThe corruption of the intellect as the worst perversion of human natureThe profound theology of Christ as the Logos — the divine ordering principle of all realityThis episode will challenge you to take lying far more seriously and to see how every lie moves both ourselves and others farther away from Jesus Christ, who declares “I am the Truth.”Chapters00:00 Introduction to Ascend The Great Books Podcast04:13 Exploring Dante's Inferno: The Spiritual Harm of Lying06:07 Understanding the Architecture of Hell15:05 The Nature of Truth and Speech20:26 The Consequences of Lying vs. Murder24:24 The Nature of Lying and Its Consequences30:52 Understanding Logos and Its SignificanceKey Topics DiscussedDante's moral purpose in writing the Divine ComedyThe structure of Hell: sins of incontinence vs. sins of maliceUpper Hell vs. Lower Hell and the City of DisWhy flattery appears lower in Hell than murderSt. Thomas Aquinas on truth: “the conformity of the mind to reality”The purpose (telos) of speech: to convey truth and help others conform their minds to realityWhy lying is a perversion of speech and an attack on the intellectThe inverted hierarchy of the soul in HellChrist as the Logos (John 1) — the rational structure and ordering principle of all creationHow lying is an anti-Christ act that divorces the mind from reality and from Jesus HimselfThe spiritual danger of breeding greater errors through falsehoodNotable Quotes / Insights“Sins against the soul are always going to be more severe than sins against the body.”“The corruption of the best is the worst.”“Christ does not say ‘I have come to share a truth with you.' He says, ‘I am the Truth.'”“Every lie moves people farther away from Jesus Christ because you are divorcing the mind from reality.”Keywords and phrases: spiritual harm of lying, Dante Inferno lying, is lying worse than murder, Dante Inferno flattery, why Dante puts liars in lower hell, spiritual harm of lying Dante, lying worse than violence, Christ as the Logos, logos theology lying, anti-Christ act of lying, Dante hell structure explained, truth and speech Catholic theology, why is lying worse than murder in Dante's Inferno, spiritual consequences of lying Catholic, Dante Inferno fraud vs violence, what is the spiritual harm of lying, lying as anti-Christ act, St Thomas Aquinas truth conformity of mind to reality, John 1 Logos and lying, Dante Inferno sins of malice, treachery in Dante's Inferno, flattery in Dante's hell, Dante Divine Comedy moral lesson, sins against the soul vs body, corruption of the intellect, teleology of speech, Catholic teaching on lying, Aquinas definition of truth, Inferno architecture explained.
April 13th, 2026: St Thomas Aquinas on Divine Mercy & Sin; Witnessing to the Truth; God Grants Mercy to Those Who Fear Him
This is Part 1 of our four-episode series “What Is Man That You Are Mindful of Him? Imago Dei in the Age of AI.” In a world racing toward artificial super-intelligence that threatens to out-think and out-perform us at almost every task, the Catholic Church points us back to an older drama: super-intelligences were here first — and the brightest of them burned with envy when God crowned ordinary flesh-and-blood humans with glory and honor. Drawing from Milton's Paradise Lost, Psalm 8, Genesis 1, and the insights of Aquinas and Suárez on the angelic fall, Greg explores why our worth has never been grounded in tasks or productivity. Even if machines surpass us on every measurable metric, our dignity remains untouched — because it is ontological, rooted in the Imago Dei and God's unchanging call to be fruitful, multiply, and steward creation as His beloved sons and daughters. Whether you're a Protestant pastor quietly investigating Catholicism, a curious seeker drawn to the beauty of the faith, or a cradle Catholic rediscovering its depths, this episode will steady your heart with the ancient answer to the question that still echoes today: “What is man that You are mindful of him?” SUPPORT THIS SHOW Considering Catholicism is 100% listener-supported. If this podcast has helped you on your journey, please become a patron today! For as little as $5/month you get: • Every regular episode ad-free and organized into topical playlists • Exclusive bonus content (extra Q&As, Deep-Dive courses, live streams, and more) • My deepest gratitude and a growing community of like-minded listeners ➡️ Join now: https://patreon.com/consideringcatholicism (or tap the Patreon link in your podcast app) One-time gift: Donate with PayPal! CONNECT WITH US • Website & contact form: https://consideringcatholicism.com • Email: consideringcatholicism@gmail.com • Leave a comment on Patreon (I read every one!) RATE & REVIEW If you enjoy the show, please leave a rating (and even better, a review) on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen — it really helps new listeners find us. SHARE THE SHOW Know someone who's curious about Catholicism? Send them a link or share an episode on social media. Thank you! Christus vincit, Christus regnat, Christus imperat.
Today on Ascend: The Great Books Podcast, Dcn. Harrison Garlick takes a popular article from The Ascent, a top 100 substack in faith and spirituality, and does a deep dive on CS Lewis, Dante, and the problem of evil (theodicy). Check out THE ASCENT - a top 100 Substack on Christianity spirituality.Check out "The Hidden Meaning of Narnia's Endless Winter" Substack article.Check out the NEW Instagram page for Ascend.In this fascinating episode Deacon Garlick explores one of C.S. Lewis's most striking images: the never-ending winter in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.Why is it “always winter but never Christmas”?Far more than a chilly backdrop, Lewis uses the endless cold as a powerful allegory for evil itself. Deacon connects Lewis' imagery to Dante's frozen pit at the bottom of Hell in the Inferno, revealing how both Christian master-teachers portray evil not as an opposite of the good, but as a cold, lifeless privation—an absence of heat, motion, and life.You'll gain fresh insight into:- Why evil is best understood as a “hole in the ground” or darkness without light- How the White Witch's power to turn creatures to stone mirrors the soul-freezing effect of sin- The beautiful contrast of Aslan's warm, life-giving breath (echoing John's Pentecost and the forgiveness of sins)- The deeper Christian truth that goodness and being are convertible—evil pulls us toward unreality and non-existenceDeacon also shares why reading Narnia to children is such a gift: it trains young minds to love allegory, unlocks the four senses of Scripture, and cultivates a richer, more sacramental view of reality.Warm, thoughtful, and packed with spiritual wisdom, this episode will leave you with renewed appreciation for Lewis, Dante, and the profound way great stories reveal eternal truths.If you love C.S. Lewis, Dante, or want to understand the nature of evil more deeply, you won't want to miss this one! Episode Chapters:00:00 Introduction & What's New on Ascend01:34 Welcome to Ascend: The Great Books Podcast03:45 The Ascent Substack & Sister Publication06:20 The Hidden Meaning of Narnia's Endless Winter08:10 Background Story of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe11:30 Aslan as Christ Allegory & Benefits of Reading Narnia to Children15:45 The Four Senses of Scripture (Literal, Allegorical, Moral, Anagogical)20:10 Why Allegory Matters for Scripture and Reality23:50 What Is Evil? – Introducing the Problem of Evil (Theodicy)27:40 Evil as Privation of the Good (Augustine & Aquinas)32:15 Freedom, Free Will, and the Origin of Evil36:40 C.S. Lewis: Endless Winter as Allegory for Evil40:20 The White Witch's Power & Aslan's Life-Giving Breath44:10 Dante's Inferno: The Frozen Pit of Hell48:30 God as Love That Moves the Sun and Stars52:00 Key Lessons: Evil, Being, and Goodness55:20 Recap & Closing Thoughts57:40 What's Coming Next on AscendKeywords: C.S. Lewis, Narnia, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, endless winter Narnia, hidden meaning of Narnia, Narnia allegory, problem of evil, theodicy, Dante Inferno, frozen hell Dante, evil as privation, nature of evil, Aslan Christ allegory, White Witch, Christian allegory, four senses of Scripture, reading Narnia to children, great books podcast, Christian spirituality, privation of the good, evil and free will, Dante and Lewis, spiritual meaning of winter.
Four Catholic therapists and four Catholic philosophers take on the most frequently asked metaphysical questions about grounding Internal Family Systems in a Catholic worldview. Join Elizabeth Galanti, Dr. Anthony Flood, Dr. Andrea Messineo, Dr. Gerry Crete, Dr. Monty De La Torre, Fr. Thomas Berg, and Dr. Peter Malinoski for a spirited discussion of: 1) the relationship between IFS and the Catholic Church; 2) problems with the IFS conceptualization of “Self'; 3) the importance of the Catholic IFS clinician staying true to the teachings of the Church; 4) distinguishing between parts and demons in IFS work; 5) how can we prevent parts work from opening the door to demons? 6) what does it mean to say that all parts are good?; 7) how does ordered self-love differ from selfishness?; 8) is there a danger of creating an endless nesting of parts within parts within parts, an “infinite regress” of parts?; and 9) How does the Catholic understanding of conscience related to parts in IFS? Fr. Thomas Berg's books: Hurting in the Church: A Way Forward for Wounded Catholics: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hurting-in-the-church-fr-thomas-berg/1124597873Choosing Forgiveness: Unleash the Power of God's Gracee: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/choosing-forgiveness-fr-thomas-berg/1140395384?ean=9781681926537 Dr. Andrea Messineo's book “Alone in Church”: https://www.amazon.com/ALONE-CHURCH-Andrea-Messineo/dp/1732054290Check out Dr. Messineo's website at Andreamessineolpcc.comDr. Anthony Flood's books: The Root of Friendship: Self-Love and Self-Governance in Aquinas https://www.cuapress.org/9780813226057/the-root-of-friendship/ The Metaphysical Foundations of Love: Aquinas on Participation, Unity, and Union: https://www.cuapress.org/9780813234205/the-metaphysical-foundations-of-love/Dr. Gerry Crete's book, “Litanies of the Heart”: https://www.amazon.com/Litanies-Heart-Gerry-Ken-Crete-ebook/dp/B0CSKSCMPP?ref_=ast_author_mpbElizabeth Galanti's practice: https://www.elizabethgalanti.com/Dr. Monty De La Torre's recent reflections: https://www.soulsandhearts.com/blog/the-metaphysics-of-parts-part-i-the-soul-the-faculties-and-the-senses/https://www.soulsandhearts.com/blog/intellect-knowledge-judgement-reasoning-and-parts-the-metaphysics-of-parts-part-ii/Check out our Resilient Catholics Community (RCC) here: https://www.soulsandhearts.com/rccCheck out our Formation for Formators (FFF) Community here: https://www.soulsandhearts.com/fffKey moments12:28 "What does the Catholic Church have to say about IFS, and is IFS OK for Catholics?" "How can we make sure that our IFS-informed parts work is fully Catholic?”19:50 Problems with the IFS conceptualization of “Self” and how to modify the idea of the inmost self so that it harmonizes with a Catholic understanding of the human person23:30 The importance of the IFS Catholic clinician staying true to all Catholic doctrine25:20 "How can I tell if I'm connecting with a part or a with a demon? How do we keep our parts work from creating vulnerabilities toward demonic influences?"35:55 "Why do we say in IFS that there are no bad parts, that all parts are welcome? It certainly seems that some of my parts are urging me to do bad or sinful things, and that I have to resist them."50:00 "From a parts perspective, how does ordered self-love differ from selfishness?"59:00 According to St. Thomas Aquinas, there is no part of you that by itself has hegemony over the role of goodness. Each part has a goodness or proper functioning that is nested in the good of the person as a whole. That is why when willing goods to oneself, you must will goods in a way that is respectful of all of you, not just some of you.1:06:50 "What if I create an endless number of parts? Or, a part, that has a part, that has a part, etc...? " -- the “infinite regress” of parts1:21:50 How does the Catholic understanding of conscience related to parts in IFS?
Lust and gluttony don't start in your body, they start in your story about what will finally make you feel okay. We go after the deeper question behind the habits: what am I trying to soothe, and what am I willing to cross to get it?We pick up our Lent teaching series on the seven deadly sins by naming why these two are so persistent. Drawing from John Cassian, Augustine, and Aquinas, we talk about why lust and gluttony are “long wars” and why they often drive the excuses behind other struggles. You'll hear a reframing that cuts through shallow definitions: lust isn't only sexual sin, and gluttony isn't only overeating. Gluttony is consuming a good thing beyond its purpose to medicate pain or insecurity. Lust is craving fulfillment in a way that bypasses God's will, timing, or boundaries.From dopamine shopping and information overload to validation chasing, relationship dependency, and achievement obsession, we apply ancient wisdom to modern patterns with a clear goal: move from the city of man, where we try to fix ourselves with man-made steps, to the City of God, where we live by the Spirit and the blood of Jesus. We close with Galatians 2 and a simple, searching practice: ask what love requires of you right now.My hope is that this podcast helps grow your faith and equips you to accomplish your dreams and goals!Follow me on InstagramFollow me on FacebookFollow me on TikTok
Pints of Aquinas turns 10 years old today! From the very first podcast episode, “Who Are You, St. Thomas?” to praying to the good Lord that the elevator would work when Dr. Jordan Peterson arrived in Steubenville, Ohio. To FINALLY having Dr. Brant Pitre on and joining The Daily Wire - thank you for being here along the way and praise God for good he is working through these conversations. All glory to God. Cheers.
Philosopher Stefan Molyneux unpacks Iran's real average IQ near 84 via Richard Lynn's data, shattering online test myths, political censorship and ideological fury to reveal intelligence's raw grip on civilizations.Questions:"Would you say your love for the music of Freddy Mercury is the primary factor that has unconsciously influenced you to repeatedly make false claims on X that the average IQ of Iran is 104-106. Firstly Stef, I'm a man who is deeply fascinated by the topic of IQ. And having said that I know that the IQ of Iran is roughly 84. I of course am not an IQ scientist/researcher myself but I have several sources from the top IQ experts some of which you probably have heard of (or maybe even interviewed on your show!). Now data from the most prominent IQ scientist Richard Lynn confirms the average IQ of Iran to be 84 (Citation 'The Wealth of Nations (2002), pg.133'. Which conversely is not only 20 points lower than your outrageous 104 IQ claim but is also even lower than Iraq which is 87. Now of course in a country of 90 million people you might have a million people with an IQ of 104 and let's say 90,000 people with an IQ of >129 (See Normal Distribution charts attached below). So you will have some very smart people in Iran, but these people are an extreme minority generated by the bell curve of genetics being thrown 90 million times!, so as a whole on average most of the 90 million Iranians are borderline intellectually disabled. Now Stef back to your claim. Your claim is OUTRAGEOUS! You claim the IQ of Iran is 104-106, which is complete nonsense. I mean Stef think about what you're saying Stef. Your saying the IQ of Iran a dysfunctional country majority populated with brainwashed borderline mentally dysfunctional people is the same as a highly industrious, innovative and merit based futuristic tech megalopolis like Japan. I mean spend one day in Japan and spend one day in Iran and I imagine the experience would be like worlds apart, yet you Stef claim that the IQ of Iran is the same as Japan??? WHATTT???? Does randomly firing missiles every so often like a child having a tantrum prove anything but the government of Iran is full of low IQ dysfunctional people. Now I know the IQ of the government is not necessarily the same as the general population. BUT, if the IQ of the general population was really that much higher than the governing leaders, then those moronic leaders would have been deposed of by the people a long time ago. Yet they weren't, so we should infer the general population isn't in fact that much more intelligent than the government's. Stef, in the West you might encounter Iranians who are very smart, but it goes without saying this sample is a very biased sample. What is particularly strange about all this, is you Stef are a man with a very high knowledge about IQ's effect on national wealth and civil decorum and functionality, yet despite Iran being a highly dysfunctional nation at practically any level you can look at, you Stef echo a claim that the IQ of Iran is the same as Japan and even higher than Western Europe! How ABSURD! Which brings me back to my initial question. (Continued...)"@freedomain (Continuing on ->) So Stef, when otherwise rational people act out of character and push fake news based on data that is from a biased sample (or is possibly even data that has been manipulated and propagated as a psy-op by the Iranian government) when they otherwise wouldn't ordinarily do so, one naturally has to ask WHY??? In my opinion, I think I know the answer. Stef, the only thing that explains this BIZARRE behaviour of yours (tweeting unverified claims about IQ), is you Stef have a bias in favour of Iran which I think stems from your love of Freddy Mercury music. Would you agree Stef?"(*** Stef you did tweet out a Youtube video of a Freddy Mercury song at about the same time you made your Iran IQ tweets, so I think the evidence is clear Stef, Freddy Mercury was on your mind, when you made those fake news Iran 104 IQ tweets.)"Now, lastly Stef you might be asking, why putting out a FALSE tweet falsely claiming the IQ of Iran is 104 even matter's that much? To that I would say it matters a whole lot because IQ of course matters a whole lot, including in regards to military objectives and war. Like ask why would invading Iran be any different from Iraq? Did Trump invade Iran because he thought it would lead to a different outcome because Trump views the population of Iran to be quote 'high IQ people'? (as Trump even said so as much in the last 24 hours.)"BUT … Mr. Trump, what if Iran isn't populated by high IQ people, what if Mr. Trump you were misled by fake news that Mr. Molyneux negligently tweeted rather than read the actual source material. (Lynn, 'The Wealth of Nations' (2002) IQ of Iran = 84). Well, Mr. Trump if you believed the average IQ of the population of Iran was 104 then you Mr. Trump might have assumed that all you had to do was take out the authoritarian government and then the high IQ population will swiftly bring about peace and democracy. But Mr. Trump, what if the average IQ of Iran is not 104? What if the top IQ scientists such as Lynn were right and the average IQ of Iran is in fact 84? Well then Mr. Trump, then your dealing with a very low IQ population, who will be frankly impossible to deal with, they will inevitably vote for another dictator and you Mr. Trump will find yourself in another forever war. That is why national IQ matters and that is why putting out false unverified and unsubstantiated tweets about IQ is a great error of judgment. Lastly to conclude, I believe in the great predictive power of IQ like you Stef, which is why I think it would be incumbent upon you to put out a correction unless you have verified sources from other top IQ researchers that support your OUTRAGEOUS Iran 104 National IQ claim.""Hi Stef! when communicating philosophy or philosophical ideas to the average person, and they respond with confusion or indifference, how do we know whether we have failed to adequately relay the ideas or if it is just too complex a language for them to grasp? I know everyone is capable of understanding philosophy on some level even if they're lower IQ, so could the disconnect come from the disparity of time spent in the subject?""Your Sunday (3/15) show was incredible. As a Catholic, that opening monologue challenging today's Christians to answer with clarity what Jesus commands via the Good Samaritan parable, especially when it comes to the specific child abuse scenario you laid out, it left me with a deep sense of sorrow for what you endured, and my own sense of frustration with the leadership of the Church."The reality that not one, no church leaders, Anglican or not, lay or religious influencers; no one has tried to dialogue with you to address these essential issues, when you have been pointing them out for decades is more than disappointing to hear."(Not as disappointing as some of the immediate live caller responses yesterday... the second woman was out of line, and the gentleman who landed on the idea that if you had not been abused, we wouldn't have received your philosophy gifts was hard to stomach.)"Nonetheless, if one (myself) was going to try to reach out, share your 3/15 show and try to coordinate a dialogue just to deal with the Good Samaritan and cold abuse topic, is that something you would be comfortable with?"second question"a few days ago, someone asked about how you feel about the Shroud of Turin, maybe you missed it but there has been renewed interest in the Shroud the last few years when a new photo 'negative' that appeared in 2024 along with new studies that for many was very compelling ... from a reason and evidence standpoint... to the image being impossible to reproduce."I could be wrong but I felt like your answer lumped it so quickly with other things ... I believe u mentioned people of faith like Aquinas have searched for 'proof' for centuries. And you found that people of faith who are seeking proof to be an interesting paradox."are you able to revisit this topic and assess what authenticating (if we are to believe the new reporting) that specific historical artifact could mean for at least establishing how the image came to be on the cloth?"again appreciate all u do to improve the world via philosophy and advocating for objective morality.""America in WW2 has burned down some and bombed all the major cities in Japan, even using the atomic bomb to create a glimpse of hell never before seen on earth. Yet today, the alliance between US and Japan couldnt be friendlier. In the middle east, we've also bombed them to next week and back for 30 or so years. And they still, understandably, hate the US. What do you think causes this difference in point of view between the countries? Is it religion/culture? Could it be IQ? Forgive me if this is too politcal or naive a question. Thank you!""My martial arts club have a Hazing ritual that I believe is immoral and useless. I trying to get it banned."Whats your opinions on hazing? Is it for example always immoral?"GET FREEDOMAIN MERCH! https://shop.freedomain.com/SUBSCRIBE TO ME ON X! https://x.com/StefanMolyneuxFollow me on Youtube! https://www.youtube.com/@freedomain1GET MY NEW BOOK 'PEACEFUL PARENTING', THE INTERACTIVE PEACEFUL PARENTING AI, AND THE FULL AUDIOBOOK!https://peacefulparenting.com/Join the PREMIUM philosophy community on the web for free!Subscribers get 12 HOURS on the "Truth About the French Revolution," multiple interactive multi-lingual philosophy AIs trained on thousands of hours of my material - as well as AIs for Real-Time Relationships, Bitcoin, Peaceful Parenting, and Call-In Shows!You also receive private livestreams, HUNDREDS of exclusive premium shows, early release podcasts, the 22 Part History of Philosophers series and much more!See you soon!https://freedomain.locals.com/support/promo/UPB2025
What if death's presence in the cosmos is not native to creation but a wound running all the way down to its foundations, inflicted before Adam ever reached for the fruit? Philip Porter joins Derek Rishmawy, Alastair Roberts, and Brad East to discuss his new book, which retrieves Augustine, Aquinas, Milton, and Tolkien to argue that the angelic fall precedes and precipitates every other form of evil, and that contemporary theology has been too quick to make peace with death. —— Hosts: Derek Rishmawy, Alastair Roberts, Brad East Guest: Philip Porter, assistant professor of theology at Saint Louis University (Madrid) and author of Unnatural Death: Creation, Sin, and the Angelic Fall. He completed his doctoral work under Paul Griffiths at Duke Divinity School. —— Get the free ebook Spiritual Formation for the Family at http://mereorthodoxy.com/family. Mere Fidelity is a podcast from Mere Orthodoxy and is listener-supported. If you would like to support this work, become a Mere Orthodoxy Member today at http://mereorthodoxy.com/membership. Get 30% of the Baker Book of the Month, Keeping Kids Christian: Recovering A Biblical Vision For Lifelong Discipleship, by going to: http://bakerbookhouse.com/pages/mere-fidelity Apply for Beeson Divinity School's Ph.D program by April 1 for Fall 2026 admission here: https://bit.ly/BeesonPhD —— Timestamps 0:00 - Intro 3:50 - Porter's thesis: why death as enemy matters and what contemporary theology gets wrong 8:40 - Augustine's rationes seminales: the seed-like reasons at the heart of creation 10:15 - Angels as administrators of creation and how their fall wounds the cosmos 13:30 - Tolkien's Silmarillion, Melkor's discord, and the felix culpa logic 17:30 - The conditio and administratio: God's atemporal creation vs. its unfolding in time 20:00 - Three false paths: Kelsey, McCabe, and Darwin 27:00 - Does scripture naturalize death? The grain of wheat, 1 Corinthians 15, and Alastair's question 39:10 - The double fall: Romans 5, the angelic fall, and how they fit together 42:00 - Satan's envy of the hypostatic union: what Lucifer saw and why he turned 52:00 - Refracted and diffracted light: a metaphor for holy and fallen angels 1:01:40 - Deep time, hominins, and what it means for Adam to be unfallen in a devastated cosmos 1:05:05 - The Johannine thread: destroying the works of the devil and what the devil actually wants 1:12:30 - Universalism, David Bentley Hart, and the problem the angelic fall poses for it 1:20:35 - Supralapsarianism and the incarnation-anyway position Books Mentioned Philip Porter, Unnatural Death: Creation, Sin, and the Angelic Fall Paul Griffiths, Decreation David Kelsey, Eccentric Existence J.R.R. Tolkien, The Silmarillion David Bentley Hart, That All Shall Be Well Ambrose of Milan, On the Good of Death
Click Subscribe! My Site: https://jaysanalysis.com My Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/JayDyer My Book: https://jaysanalysis.com/shop/ My TV Show: https://www.gaia.com/series/hollywood-decoded Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Jay_D007 Follow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JaysAnalysis/ Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jaysanalysis/ Follow on Gab: https://gab.ai/JayDyer Dr. Feingold is Assistant Professor Of Philosophy at St. Patrick's Seminary and University, with a specialty in medieval philosophy (esp. Aquinas), metaphysics (esp. philosophy of God), ethics (esp. moral psychology). Areas of competence: Ancient philosophy, modern philosophy, political philosophy, epistemology, and free will. We will be debating whether the Thomistic and Roman Dogma of absolute divine simplicity is true.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/jay-sanalysis--1423846/support.
In this episode of The World View, Alex Kocman examines several stories shaping the global conversation and asks a deeper question: why does so much of human history revolve around the person of Jesus Christ?First, the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran once again puts the Middle East at the center of global attention. But beneath the geopolitics lies a deeper reality: the world's major conflicts are tied to the competing claims of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam—and ultimately to the question Jesus asked his disciples: “Who do you say that I am?”Next, Alex addresses reports of a missile strike on a school in Iran and what Christian moral teaching says about war, the dignity of human life, and the principles of just war theory developed by Augustine and Aquinas.Then we examine troubling survey data showing a decline in pro-life convictions among churchgoers, and what that reveals about the influence of culture on modern evangelicalism.Finally, Alex discusses the growing debate about pastoral sabbaticals, the state of masculinity in the church, and whether modern ministries are producing fewer missionary-minded men like William Carey and Hudson Taylor.If the church is growing softer, what kind of Christianity are we exporting to the world? https://abwe.org/https://press.founders.org/shop/order...
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit andrewsullivan.substack.comPaige is a scientist and writer. She's a professor of psychology at the University of Texas at Austin, where she directs the Developmental Behavior Genetics lab and serves as Director of Clinical Training. She's the author of The Genetic Lottery: Why DNA Matters for Social Equality, and her new book is Original Sin: On the Genetics of Vice, The Problem of Blame, and The Future of Forgiveness. It's about the eternal question of what sin is; and where it comes from; and whether our guilt is justified. We had a great chat.For two clips of our convo — on the proclivity for violence in our genes, and even religion! — head to our YouTube page.Other topics: growing up in a conservative religious household outside Memphis; not knowing any non-evangelicals until college; original sin and Augustine; Aquinas; Calvinism; genetics as predestination; how humans evolved to be more cooperative and non-violent than apes; the genes of violent criminals; the overwhelming disparity of men versus women in prison; accountability vs punishment; free will; God in the gaps; the genetic predisposition for faith; Tourette's at BAFTA; addiction; how drugs change your brain; AA as Christianity with the theology removed; mental illness; my bipolar and borderline mother; Pascal; philosopher Hanna Pickard; poet Carl Phillips; how genes affect horniness; testosterone and sex; the documentary Seven Up; how identical twins become more similar in middle age; and my initial reactions to the war in Iran.Browse the Dishcast archive for an episode you might enjoy. Coming up: Matt Goodwin on the political earthquake in the UK, Jeffrey Toobin on the pardon power, Derek Thompson on abundance, Jonah Goldberg on the state of conservatism, Tom Holland on the Christian roots of liberalism, Tiffany Jenkins on privacy in a liberal democracy, and Adrian Wooldridge on “the lost genius of liberalism.” As always, please send any guest recs, dissents, and other comments to dish@andrewsullivan.com.
“Is it appropriate to pray the Rosary during Mass?” This question opens a discussion on the integration of personal devotion within communal worship. Other topics include why many Catholic parishes serve only bread during Communion, the historical context of the Holy Family’s journey to Egypt, and the process of seeking annulments while preparing for the sacraments. Join the Catholic Answers Live Club Newsletter Invite our apologists to speak at your parish! Visit Catholicanswersspeakers.com Questions Covered: 03:30 – Is it appropriate to pray the Rosary during Mass? 17:03 – I'm not Catholic. Why do many Catholic churches only give the bread and not the wine? It seems like if we're following scripture it should be both. 29:15 – I heard that when the Holy Family went to Egypt they were robbed by two thieves, and these same thieves were crucified with Jesus. Is this true? 33:33 – My wife and I are going through OCIA. Both of us are seeking annulments for our previous marriages. The annulments will likely not be done by Easter. Can we still receive the sacrament of reconciliation? 43:11 – Could the new Mass of Paul VI be considered a new rite? Especially considering the new Eucharistic prayers, and the fact that the Roman Canon is not required? 45:21 – What are your thoughts on making noise in the church before Mass begins? Should it be silent preparation, or should we greet and talk to people? Or somewhere in between? 50:07 – Is Aquinas' belief that Jesus did not have the theological virtue of Faith a doctrine of the Church? Or is it just Aquinas' opinion?
Are generational curses real, and does the Bible support the idea that sins can pass down through families? In this episode of Catholic Answers Live, Jimmy Akin tackles a wide range of fascinating questions from listeners. He explains the Church's teaching on generational curses, whether Christians can eat food offered to other gods, and when it may be morally permissible to disobey unjust laws. Jimmy also explores deeper philosophical and theological questions, including how we can experience happiness in Heaven before the resurrection of the body, whether a pope emeritus remains a cardinal, and whether delaying confession can itself become sinful. A thoughtful and wide-ranging discussion covering moral theology, Church authority, and practical Catholic living. Join the Catholic Answers Live Club Newsletter Invite our apologists to speak at your parish! Visit Catholicanswersspeakers.com Questions Covered: 00:55 – Is there such a thing as generational curses? 13:21 – Could you please summarize the church’s teaching on food offered to other gods? Is it a sin to eat it if it’s offered to me or is it fine if I just think of it as something to eat? 20:09 – When does illegally acquired power become legal? For example, when can a Chinese person stop obeying the authorities in Taiwan, and henceforth honor the ruling Communists? 23:27 – Yes, can you please explain when, if ever, it is okay to disobey laws and rules? Also, while vigilantism is against Catholic teaching, when, if ever, is it appropriate to try to restore justice as an ordinary citizen if corruption has gone so far? Sorry, I know this is very broad but I appreciate any thoughts. Thank you so much. God bless you always, Jimmy. 34:13 – How can we be happy in Heaven before the general resurrection if happiness is dependent on chemicals in our brains? 44:34 – Is a pope emeritus still a cardinal, or would the next pope need to create his predecessor as a cardinal again so that he could vote in a conclave again? 49:00 – Is it an additional sin to delay confession if you know you need to go? Someone on X argued Aquinas says delaying confession is not a sin. I argued that he says it’s impractical to go “immediately,” but it can still be a sin depending on your access to a priest and why you delay.