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7 episodes with Witherspoon Institute
3 episodes with Witherspoon Institute
2 episodes with Witherspoon Institute
2 episodes with Witherspoon Institute
2 episodes with Witherspoon Institute
2 episodes with Witherspoon Institute
2 episodes with Witherspoon Institute
2 episodes with Witherspoon Institute
2 episodes with Witherspoon Institute
This episode is a recording of the lecture delivered on February 20th by Dr. R.J. Snell at the University Catholic Center of UT Austin. While the term acedia may be unfamiliar, the vice, usually translated as sloth, is all too common. Sloth is not mere laziness, however, but a disgust with reality, a loathing of our call to be friends with God, and a spiteful, bored hatred of place and life itself. As described by Josef Pieper, the slothful person does not “want to be as God wants him to be, and that ultimately means he does not wish to be what he really, fundamentally is.” Sloth is a hellish despair. Our own culture is deeply infected, choosing a destructive freedom rather than the good work for which God created us. But we can resist despair and can reconfigure our imaginations and practices in deep love of the life and work given by God. By feasting, keeping sabbath, and working well, we learn to see the world as enchanting, beautiful, and good—just as God sees it. R.J. Snell is Director of Academic Programs. Prior to his appointment at the Witherspoon Institute, he was for many years Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Philosophy Program at Eastern University and the Templeton Honors College, where he founded and directed the Agora Institute for Civic Virtue and the Common Good.
2/4/25 - Kathryn Francisco is a woman born from donor conception who has done advocacy work sharing her story and supporting restorative reproductive medicine. She converted to Catholicism in 2015, thereafter serving six years as Operations Manager for CanaVox, the marriage and family project of the Witherspoon Institute, and three years for the International Institute for Restorative Reproductive Medicine as secretariat. She met her husband while living in NJ and now supports him full-time while raising their children in sunny Naples, FL.
This week Roger welcomes Michael C. Maibach to discuss the significance of the Electoral College in the American republic, its origins, and the historical context of its establishment. They also discuss the ongoing debates surrounding the Electoral College's relevance and how to view the Constitution through the lens of Natural Law.Michael C. Maibach is the founder and director of The Center for the Electoral College and is also the current distinguished fellow at Save Our States, an organization dedicated to defending the Electoral College. He also serves on the board for multiple nonprofit organizations including the Witherspoon Institute, Institute of World Politics and the James Wilson Institute.He is a proud supporter of TFAS and speaks frequently at TFAS programs.The Liberty + Leadership Podcast is hosted by TFAS president Roger Ream and produced by Podville Media. If you have a comment or question for the show, please email us at podcast@TFAS.org. To support TFAS and its mission, please visit TFAS.org/support.Support the show
Do you want to increase your kids' chances of marital success? If so, this is the episode for you! Ana Samuel, a research scholar at the Witherspoon Institute in Princeton, NJ, joins Suzanne to discuss the unfortunate 2023 Pew finding that most parents today "do not consider it important” whether or not their kids marry and have children. https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2023/01/24/parenting-in-america-today/ https://ifstudies.org/blog/why-we-are-doing-all-we-can-to-increase-our-kids-chances-of-marital-success https://www.wsj.com/arts-culture/books/three-books-on-what-being-a-parent-really-means-1a83bb23
John J. Miller is joined by R. J. Snell of the Witherspoon Institute to discuss Thomas Aquinas's 'Summa Theologica.'
In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss the subject of a recent Christianity Today article written by Russell Moore titled, “Why Young Men Are Failing to Launch.” The phrase “failure to launch” is not new on the cultural scene; however, it is increasingly becoming reflective of Gen Z men. This is a generation that Dr. White is very familiar with following the research he did for his book Meet Generation Z. So why do Gen Z men seem to struggle so much with branching out on their own? Episode Links As discussed, one of the fundamental issues is that men these days don't seem to know what it means to be a man. This was a trend that Dr. White began to see in culture, and was what prompted the development of a series he delivered at Mecklenburg Community Church called “Defining Manhood.” This topic has also been broached through the Church & Culture Podcast in episodes CCP101: On Bluey and Modern Fatherhood and CCP72: On Toxic Masculinity. In addition to the CT article from Moore, other journalists who study culture have also taken note of this issue affecting Gen Z men. While there are many others out there, these are a good place to start if you're looking for more to read on this topic. Hannah Fry, writing in the Los Angeles Times, titled her article “A ‘failure to launch': Why young people are having less sex.” Christine Emba wrote a very interesting article on this subject in The Washington Post titled, “Men are lost. Here's a map out of the wilderness.” Glen Stanton, in an effort to help shed some light on this topic, wrote an article titled “Manhood Is Not Natural” in The Journal of the Witherspoon Institute. An article in Medium was titled “Are Gen Z Men Really That Undateable?” The conversation also explored whether parents could be to blame for this failure to launch. After all, Gen Z have been raised by Gen X. And much of their parenting was focused on not becoming a helicopter parent. The result? They became too under protective when it came to parenting. On that topic, Dr. White gave a series at Meck called “The Under-Protective Parent.” Lastly, today's conversation talked about the prevalence of domestic abuse and the tragic affects that it has on families. If you or someone you know is being abused, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800.799.7233. For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday. We'd also love to hear from you if there is a topic that you'd like to see discussed on the Church & Culture Podcast in an upcoming episode. You can find the form to submit your questions at the bottom of the podcast page HERE.
In this episode of "What We Can't Talk About," Dr. Orlandi is joined by Dr. RJ Snell, Director of Academic Programs at the Witherspoon Institute, a sister organization of the Austin Institute. They delve into Snell's new book, "Lost in the Chaos: Immanence, Despair, Hope," which tackles the challenges of contemporary life in Western democracies, addressing decadence, disorder, and despair. The conversation navigates the complexities of finding transcendence and hope in a society that doesn't prioritize these values. Drawing on ancient and modern philosophical insights, Snell offers a roadmap to moral reformation and spiritual renewal, embodying philosophy in its purest form—a relentless pursuit of wisdom.
Dr. R.J. Snell, Director of Academic Programs at the Witherspoon Institute in Princeton, NJ, and Editor-in-Chief of The Public Discourse, explores the themes of false and authentic hopes in response to Postmodern malaise in his new book Lost in Chaos: Immanence, Despair, Hope published by Angelico Press. Dr. Snell's book: https://www.amazon.com/Lost-Chaos-Immanence-Despair-Hope/dp/1621389553 Watch a short video about St. John Seminary's Online in M.A. in Pastoral Ministry Program: https://vimeo.com/790530996 If you are interested in learning more about the online M.A. in Pastoral Ministry Program for lay students at St. John's Seminary, email Dr. Stuart Squires at mapm@stjohnsem.edu
Sam Fornecker chats with philosopher R.J. Snell about his latest book, Lost in the Chaos: Immanence, Despair, Hope (Angelico, 2023). What have frenzied activists, scheming rationalists, and men in Gandalf garb got in common? Why is each symptomatic of societal despair? And what hope can the Church offer a world no longer pining for the forgiveness of sins? In this conversation, Sam Fornecker speaks with R.J. Snell (Director of Academic Programs at the Witherspoon Institute in Princeton, NJ; editor-in-chief of Public Discourse) about the profound despair of contemporary exclusive humanism— its malaises, false hopes, and deepest needs. For more on this week's conversation, see R.J.'s Lost in the Chaos. Enjoying this podcast? To keep abreast of what's going on at The Ridley Institute, or to learn more about opportunities to grow and train for Christian discipleship and mission, stay connected with us online: Website: https://ridleyinstitute.com/. Twitter: @RidleyInstitute. Ministry Apprenticeship: https://standrews.church/ministry-apprenticeship/.
Sam Fornecker chats with philosopher R.J. Snell about his latest book, Lost in the Chaos: Immanence, Despair, Hope (Angelico, 2023). What have frenzied activists, scheming rationalists, and men in Gandalf garb got in common? Why is each symptomatic of societal despair? And what hope can the Church offer a world no longer pining for the forgiveness of sins? In this conversation, Sam Fornecker speaks with R.J. Snell (Director of Academic Programs at the Witherspoon Institute in Princeton, NJ; editor-in-chief of Public Discourse) about the profound despair of contemporary exclusive humanism— its malaises, false hopes, and deepest needs. For more on this week's conversation, see R.J.'s Lost in the Chaos. Enjoying this podcast? To keep abreast of what's going on at The Ridley Institute, or to learn more about opportunities to grow and train for Christian discipleship and mission, stay connected with us online: Website: https://ridleyinstitute.com/. Twitter: @RidleyInstitute. Ministry Apprenticeship: https://standrews.church/ministry-apprenticeship/.
For many people today, avoiding existential despair is like shoveling water from a damaged ship: the effort, no matter how valiant, is ultimately futile. Stuck in an immanent frame, a frame which lacks any real transcendence, one is left without a substantial source for hope. The above remains true, though in different ways, even for believing and practicing Christians. As children of our current culture, that culture shapes even our faith. This week on HeightsCast, we welcome back Dr. R. J. Snell, the Director of Academic Programs at the Witherspoon Institute and the editor-in-chief of Public Discourse. In the episode, Dr. Snell discusses his recently published book, Lost in the Chaos, in which he offers an examination of the theological virtue of hope and an application of that virtue to our current times. More than an optimistic personality trait, more than a virtue that looks forward to a time in which all shall be made right, and more than a nostalgia that pines for a past in which all is thought to have been right, R. J. encourages us to see hope as a supernatural gift whereby we trust now in the agency of God even while evil perdures around us. Chapters 2:55 What is hope? 7:30 The “in the end” attitude 11:00 Job and hope in the darkness 14:00 The metaphysics of despair 18:55 Safety-ism 21:55 Despair as the desire to disappear 24:30 How immanence affects even the believer 26:46 Temptations of believers and non-believers 31:40 The twin dangers of utopianism and fundamentalism 36:35 The small teams and the little flocks 42:20 The importance of loving people as they are 44:15 Re-evaluating our approach to reason and our capacity to see reality 50:50 Expanding reason 54:35 Feelings as hooks into reality 1:01:00 Towards a more human way of seeing 1:02:00 Take-aways 1:05:05 A parting blessing Also on the Forum Work and Acedia: On Our Original Vocation with R. J. Snell Leisure and Acedia: On Contemplative Homes in a Frenetic Age with R. J. Snell
As the end of 2023 draws closer, there is a good chance that if you're reading this you're already starting to think about what changes you want to make in the new year.For most of us it will be something meaningful but probably not always something major - after all, nearly all research points to the fact that making a drastic change overnight is rarely sustainable.But what if you are feeling like maybe you're stuck? Like the career path you've chosen, while rewarding, no longer holds your attention in the way it used to?Now there are certain professions that we associate with marketable, versatile skills, and a lot of these usually fall into the creative realm. So it's no surprise that when a lawyer thinks about changing careers, not only can it feel like they're throwing away an education, it can feel like they're throwing out an identity.My guest has struggled with these feelings since the minute she walked out of taking the bar exam. Alexandra Macey Davis is the managing editor of “Public Discourse,” the online policy journal of the The Witherspoon Institute whose mission is to enhance public understanding of the moral foundations of free societies.But before that, she was the founder of Davis Legal Media, a company that specialized in working with those in the legal fields on marketing, ghostwriting, and major content. And before THAT, she was a practicing attorney, specializing in business litigation and personal injury. In this week's episode, Alex and I talk about what options attorneys have when it comes to stepping back from the practice of law, which also happens to be the subject of her latest book, Pivot: The Non-Traditional J.D. Handbook. And while the conversation centers around the legal profession, there's plenty to take away no matter what your line of work, including discussions on procrasti-planning, the sunk cost fallacy, and so much more. It was a great conversation to close out the year and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. We'll be back next week with our annual New Year's Lightroast.
Within political discussions on the Right, social conservatism is on the rise. Why did the Right have a libertarian phase, and why is it leaving it behind? What does social conservatism look like in the world of practical public policy, and what is its future? How do religious citizens fit within the conservative movement? Ryan Anderson '04, is the director of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, a thinktank at the forefront of just such questions. After graduating from Princeton, Dr. Anderson pursued his PhD in Political Philosophy at the University of Notre Dame. He is the co-author of five books, most recently Tearing Us Apart: How Abortion Harms Everything and Solves Nothing (Regnery, 2022). His research has been cited by two U.S. Supreme Court justices, Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas, in two Supreme Court cases. In addition to leading the Ethics and Public Policy Center, Anderson serves as the John Paul II Teaching Fellow in Social Thought at the University of Dallas, and the Founding Editor of Public Discourse, the online journal of the Witherspoon Institute. During the interview, Dr. Anderson references a scatterplot showing that there were more social conservatives than libertarian voters in the 2016 election, which you can find here.
Within political discussions on the Right, social conservatism is on the rise. Why did the Right have a libertarian phase, and why is it leaving it behind? What does social conservatism look like in the world of practical public policy, and what is its future? How do religious citizens fit within the conservative movement? Ryan Anderson '04, is the director of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, a thinktank at the forefront of just such questions. After graduating from Princeton, Dr. Anderson pursued his PhD in Political Philosophy at the University of Notre Dame. He is the co-author of five books, most recently Tearing Us Apart: How Abortion Harms Everything and Solves Nothing (Regnery, 2022). His research has been cited by two U.S. Supreme Court justices, Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas, in two Supreme Court cases. In addition to leading the Ethics and Public Policy Center, Anderson serves as the John Paul II Teaching Fellow in Social Thought at the University of Dallas, and the Founding Editor of Public Discourse, the online journal of the Witherspoon Institute. During the interview, Dr. Anderson references a scatterplot showing that there were more social conservatives than libertarian voters in the 2016 election, which you can find here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network
Within political discussions on the Right, social conservatism is on the rise. Why did the Right have a libertarian phase, and why is it leaving it behind? What does social conservatism look like in the world of practical public policy, and what is its future? How do religious citizens fit within the conservative movement? Ryan Anderson '04, is the director of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, a thinktank at the forefront of just such questions. After graduating from Princeton, Dr. Anderson pursued his PhD in Political Philosophy at the University of Notre Dame. He is the co-author of five books, most recently Tearing Us Apart: How Abortion Harms Everything and Solves Nothing (Regnery, 2022). His research has been cited by two U.S. Supreme Court justices, Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas, in two Supreme Court cases. In addition to leading the Ethics and Public Policy Center, Anderson serves as the John Paul II Teaching Fellow in Social Thought at the University of Dallas, and the Founding Editor of Public Discourse, the online journal of the Witherspoon Institute. During the interview, Dr. Anderson references a scatterplot showing that there were more social conservatives than libertarian voters in the 2016 election, which you can find here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/political-science
Within political discussions on the Right, social conservatism is on the rise. Why did the Right have a libertarian phase, and why is it leaving it behind? What does social conservatism look like in the world of practical public policy, and what is its future? How do religious citizens fit within the conservative movement? Ryan Anderson '04, is the director of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, a thinktank at the forefront of just such questions. After graduating from Princeton, Dr. Anderson pursued his PhD in Political Philosophy at the University of Notre Dame. He is the co-author of five books, most recently Tearing Us Apart: How Abortion Harms Everything and Solves Nothing (Regnery, 2022). His research has been cited by two U.S. Supreme Court justices, Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas, in two Supreme Court cases. In addition to leading the Ethics and Public Policy Center, Anderson serves as the John Paul II Teaching Fellow in Social Thought at the University of Dallas, and the Founding Editor of Public Discourse, the online journal of the Witherspoon Institute. During the interview, Dr. Anderson references a scatterplot showing that there were more social conservatives than libertarian voters in the 2016 election, which you can find here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/intellectual-history
Within political discussions on the Right, social conservatism is on the rise. Why did the Right have a libertarian phase, and why is it leaving it behind? What does social conservatism look like in the world of practical public policy, and what is its future? How do religious citizens fit within the conservative movement? Ryan Anderson '04, is the director of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, a thinktank at the forefront of just such questions. After graduating from Princeton, Dr. Anderson pursued his PhD in Political Philosophy at the University of Notre Dame. He is the co-author of five books, most recently Tearing Us Apart: How Abortion Harms Everything and Solves Nothing (Regnery, 2022). His research has been cited by two U.S. Supreme Court justices, Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas, in two Supreme Court cases. In addition to leading the Ethics and Public Policy Center, Anderson serves as the John Paul II Teaching Fellow in Social Thought at the University of Dallas, and the Founding Editor of Public Discourse, the online journal of the Witherspoon Institute. During the interview, Dr. Anderson references a scatterplot showing that there were more social conservatives than libertarian voters in the 2016 election, which you can find here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/american-studies
Within political discussions on the Right, social conservatism is on the rise. Why did the Right have a libertarian phase, and why is it leaving it behind? What does social conservatism look like in the world of practical public policy, and what is its future? How do religious citizens fit within the conservative movement? Ryan Anderson '04, is the director of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, a thinktank at the forefront of just such questions. After graduating from Princeton, Dr. Anderson pursued his PhD in Political Philosophy at the University of Notre Dame. He is the co-author of five books, most recently Tearing Us Apart: How Abortion Harms Everything and Solves Nothing (Regnery, 2022). His research has been cited by two U.S. Supreme Court justices, Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas, in two Supreme Court cases. In addition to leading the Ethics and Public Policy Center, Anderson serves as the John Paul II Teaching Fellow in Social Thought at the University of Dallas, and the Founding Editor of Public Discourse, the online journal of the Witherspoon Institute. During the interview, Dr. Anderson references a scatterplot showing that there were more social conservatives than libertarian voters in the 2016 election, which you can find here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/public-policy
Within political discussions on the Right, social conservatism is on the rise. Why did the Right have a libertarian phase, and why is it leaving it behind? What does social conservatism look like in the world of practical public policy, and what is its future? How do religious citizens fit within the conservative movement? Ryan Anderson '04, is the director of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, a thinktank at the forefront of just such questions. After graduating from Princeton, Dr. Anderson pursued his PhD in Political Philosophy at the University of Notre Dame. He is the co-author of five books, most recently Tearing Us Apart: How Abortion Harms Everything and Solves Nothing (Regnery, 2022). His research has been cited by two U.S. Supreme Court justices, Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas, in two Supreme Court cases. In addition to leading the Ethics and Public Policy Center, Anderson serves as the John Paul II Teaching Fellow in Social Thought at the University of Dallas, and the Founding Editor of Public Discourse, the online journal of the Witherspoon Institute. During the interview, Dr. Anderson references a scatterplot showing that there were more social conservatives than libertarian voters in the 2016 election, which you can find here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/politics-and-polemics
Within political discussions on the Right, social conservatism is on the rise. Why did the Right have a libertarian phase, and why is it leaving it behind? What does social conservatism look like in the world of practical public policy, and what is its future? How do religious citizens fit within the conservative movement? Ryan Anderson '04, is the director of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, a thinktank at the forefront of just such questions. After graduating from Princeton, Dr. Anderson pursued his PhD in Political Philosophy at the University of Notre Dame. He is the co-author of five books, most recently Tearing Us Apart: How Abortion Harms Everything and Solves Nothing (Regnery, 2022). His research has been cited by two U.S. Supreme Court justices, Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas, in two Supreme Court cases. In addition to leading the Ethics and Public Policy Center, Anderson serves as the John Paul II Teaching Fellow in Social Thought at the University of Dallas, and the Founding Editor of Public Discourse, the online journal of the Witherspoon Institute. During the interview, Dr. Anderson references a scatterplot showing that there were more social conservatives than libertarian voters in the 2016 election, which you can find here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
It's a science thingy breakdown! This one can barely be called a science thingy. It's not great. Dr. Alan Smerbeck is here to debunk one of the go-to citations for conservatives' homophobia. Does it hold up? No. Look I'm not going to pretend like it's a close call. Listen to find out why this is a shit study. Regnerus, M. (2012). How different are the adult children of parents who have same-sex relationships? findings from the new family structures study. Social Science Research, 41(4), 752-770 Cheng, S., & Powell, B. (2015). Measurement, methods, and divergent patterns: Reassessing the effects of same-sex parents. Social Science Research, 52, 615-626 Rosenfeld, M. (2015). Revisiting the data from the new family structure study: Taking family instability into account. Sociological Science, 2(23), 478-501 And the Witherspoon Institute's weird marriage spiel
Over the last few years, America has been through some growing pains, which most of us, and likely a good amount of the world, has experienced. American society seems to be in a strange lull, with many experiencing high levels of apathy, frustration, and complacency. Organizational and traditional structures that were once considered universally important are now second-guessed, criticized, or forgotten. Systematic problems, presented by our cultural, political, and philosophical leaders are obviously the root of the problem, right? What if that's wrong? What if, we as a society have missed the problem entirely? Public Discourse, an online journal from the Witherspoon Institute, considers family to be the second pillar of a decent society, stating, "no other institution can top the family's ability to transmit what is pivotal - character formation, values, virtues, and enduring love - to each generation." They ask, "Where is dignity learned, self-restraint modeled, and caring demonstrated if not first from our mothers and fathers?" That's a good question. Janel Lamb, author of Bravery and Blinders and The Sheriff's Wife: Holding it all together behind the scenes in politics joins the Wolf and Bull in episode 85. We take the time to discuss her book(s) in detail, the traditional American values that we believe are needed to mend current social issues, and what it's like to raise and nurture a family in the political spotlight. It's an incredible conversation! Raising her family while her husband grew in the public eye of Law Enforcement and Politics has given Janel unique, insightful, and touching perspectives for those of us who have gone through trials, and those of us looking to cultivate and instill a positive outlook on life. We had a wonderful conversation and we truly appreciate Janel for joining us on the show and the Lamb family for the positive impact that they're making with their work, their beliefs, and their support of those around them. If you'd like to support Janel and Sheriff Mark Lamb, you can do so by visiting SheriffsWife.com, where you can find their books, and have them personalized and signed. They make great gifts for a friend or a loved one and we highly encourage you to grab a copy for yourself. We truly enjoyed reading each of their books. They're well-written, easy reads, and they provide insight that's thought-provoking, and potentially applicable in each of our lives. You can also find content from Janel and her family via her Instagram, @missus.janel.lamb, or via her husband's Instagram, @americansheriff. We hope you enjoy the conversation as much as we did! Tune in every week for new episodes! If you'd like to support our podcast directly, you can do so here. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/wolf-and-the-bull-podcast/support
Over the last few years, America has been through some growing pains, which most of us, and likely a good amount of the world, has experienced. American society seems to be in a strange lull, with many experiencing high levels of apathy, frustration, and complacency. Organizational and traditional structures that were once considered universally important are now second-guessed, criticized, or forgotten. Systematic problems, presented by our cultural, political, and philosophical leaders are obviously the root of the problem, right? What if that's wrong? What if, we as a society have missed the problem entirely? Public Discourse, an online journal from the Witherspoon Institute, considers family to be the second pillar of a decent society, stating, "no other institution can top the family's ability to transmit what is pivotal - character formation, values, virtues, and enduring love - to each generation." They ask, "Where is dignity learned, self-restraint modeled, and caring demonstrated if not first from our mothers and fathers?" That's a good question. Janel Lamb, author of Bravery and Blinders and The Sheriff's Wife: Holding it all together behind the scenes in politics joins the Wolf and Bull in episode 85. We take the time to discuss her book(s) in detail, the traditional American values that we believe are needed to mend current social issues, and what it's like to raise and nurture a family in the political spotlight. It's an incredible conversation! Raising her family while her husband grew in the public eye of Law Enforcement and Politics has given Janel unique, insightful, and touching perspectives for those of us who have gone through trials, and those of us looking to cultivate and instill a positive outlook on life. We had a wonderful conversation and we truly appreciate Janel for joining us on the show and the Lamb family for the positive impact that they're making with their work, their beliefs, and their support of those around them. If you'd like to support Janel and Sheriff Mark Lamb, you can do so by visiting SheriffsWife.com, where you can find their books, and have them personalized and signed. They make great gifts for a friend or a loved one and we highly encourage you to grab a copy for yourself. We truly enjoyed reading each of their books. They're well-written, easy reads, and they provide insight that's thought-provoking, and potentially applicable in each of our lives. You can also find content from Janel and her family via her Instagram, @missus.janel.lamb, or via her husband's Instagram, @americansheriff. We hope you enjoy the conversation as much as we did! Tune in every week for new episodes! If you'd like to support our podcast directly, you can do so here. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/wolf-and-the-bull-podcast/support
This talk was given on December 4, 2022, at the Dominican House of Studies as part of "Avoiding Acedia: An Intellectual Retreat." For more information, please visit thomisticinstitute.org. About the speaker: R.J. Snell is Editor-in-Chief of Public Discourse and Director of Academic Programs at the Witherspoon Institute. Previously, he was for many years Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Philosophy Program at Eastern University and the Templeton Honors College, where he founded and directed the Agora Institute for Civic Virtue and the Common Good. He earned his M.A. in philosophy at Boston College, and his Ph.D. in philosophy at Marquette University. His research interests include the liberal arts, ethics, natural law theory, Thomas Aquinas, the Catholic intellectual tradition, and the work of Bernard Lonergan, SJ. Snell is the author of Through a Glass Darkly: Bernard Lonergan and Richard Rorty on Knowing without a God's-eye View (Marquette, 2006), Authentic Cosmopolitanism (with Steve Cone, Pickwick, 2013), The Perspective of Love: Natural Law in a New Mode (Pickwick, 2014), Acedia and Its Discontents (Angelico, 2015), and co-editor of Subjectivity: Ancient and Modern (Lexington, 2016) and Nature: Ancient and Modern (Lexington), as well as articles, chapters, and essays in a variety of scholarly and popular venues. He and his family reside in the Princeton area.
This talk was given on December 2, 2022, at the Dominican House of Studies as part of "Avoiding Acedia: An Intellectual Retreat." For more information, please visit thomisticinstitute.org. About the speaker: R.J. Snell is Editor-in-Chief of Public Discourse and Director of Academic Programs at the Witherspoon Institute. Previously, he was for many years Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Philosophy Program at Eastern University and the Templeton Honors College, where he founded and directed the Agora Institute for Civic Virtue and the Common Good. He earned his M.A. in philosophy at Boston College, and his Ph.D. in philosophy at Marquette University. His research interests include the liberal arts, ethics, natural law theory, Thomas Aquinas, the Catholic intellectual tradition, and the work of Bernard Lonergan, SJ. Snell is the author of Through a Glass Darkly: Bernard Lonergan and Richard Rorty on Knowing without a God's-eye View (Marquette, 2006), Authentic Cosmopolitanism (with Steve Cone, Pickwick, 2013), The Perspective of Love: Natural Law in a New Mode (Pickwick, 2014), Acedia and Its Discontents (Angelico, 2015), and co-editor of Subjectivity: Ancient and Modern (Lexington, 2016) and Nature: Ancient and Modern (Lexington), as well as articles, chapters, and essays in a variety of scholarly and popular venues. He and his family reside in the Princeton area.
This lecture was given at New York University on September 21, 2022. For more information on upcoming events, visit thomisticinstitute.org About the speaker: R. J. Snell is Director of Academic Programs at the Witherspoon Institute in Princeton, NJ. Prior to his appointment at the Witherspoon Institute, he was Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Philosophy Program at Eastern University and the Templeton Honors College, where he founded and directed the Agora Institute for Civic Virtue and the Common Good. He has been visiting instructor at Princeton University, where he is also executive director of the Aquinas Institute for Catholic Life. He's written books and articles on natural law, education, Bernard Lonergan, boredom, subjectivity, and sexual ethics for a variety of publications.
In this week's episode, we speak with Dr. Andrew T. Walker about "Natural Law." Dr. Walker is Associate Professor of Christian Ethics and Apologetics; Associate Dean, School of Theology; Director, Carl F.H. Henry Institue for Evangelical Engagement at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Walker joined the faculty of Southern Seminary in 2019. His previous appointment was Senior Fellow in Christian Ethics at the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission. His calling as a professor is to defend and advance the moral witness of the gospel. Walker has academic interests in sexual ethics, human dignity, family stability, gender, anthropology, natural law, public theology, and church-state studies. He has published widely in these fields. He is the co-author of Marriage Is: How Marriage Transforms Society and Cultivates Human Flourishing. He is the editor alongside Russell Moore of the Gospel for Life series. He is the co-author of the First Freedom religious liberty small group curriculum. He authored the award-winning book God and the Transgender Debate: What Does the Bible Actually Say About Gender Identity? He has contributed chapters to several books, delivered papers at academic conferences, and has done independent study through the Witherspoon Institute. He speaks all over the nation on issues related to Christian ethics. He is a lay leader in his local church where he teaches fifth graders weekly and leads a community group.
In this week's episode, we speak with Dr. Andrew T. Walker about "Natural Law." Dr. Walker is Associate Professor of Christian Ethics and Apologetics; Associate Dean, School of Theology; Director, Carl F.H. Henry Institue for Evangelical Engagement at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Walker joined the faculty of Southern Seminary in 2019. His previous appointment was Senior Fellow in Christian Ethics at the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission. His calling as a professor is to defend and advance the moral witness of the gospel. Walker has academic interests in sexual ethics, human dignity, family stability, gender, anthropology, natural law, public theology, and church-state studies. He has published widely in these fields. He is the co-author of Marriage Is: How Marriage Transforms Society and Cultivates Human Flourishing. He is the editor alongside Russell Moore of the Gospel for Life series. He is the co-author of the First Freedom religious liberty small group curriculum. He authored the award-winning book God and the Transgender Debate: What Does the Bible Actually Say About Gender Identity? He has contributed chapters to several books, delivered papers at academic conferences, and has done independent study through the Witherspoon Institute. He speaks all over the nation on issues related to Christian ethics. He is a lay leader in his local church where he teaches fifth graders weekly and leads a community group.
A certain distinguished school leader, when asked when he would retire from his work, replied, “the day that I wake up and do not want to go to work.” A reply such as this perhaps strikes the modern ear as senseless. For many of us, work fills the greater portion of our daily lives, but do we feel ourselves thereby fulfilled? Especially today, we may often feel trapped in what seem like unspectacular sisyphean cycles. This week, R. J. Snell, editor-in-chief of Public Discourse and director of the Center on the University and Intellectual Life at the Witherspoon Institute in Princeton, New Jersey, talks to HeightsCast about the virtues of work and its opposing vice, acedia. Drawing on insights from his book, Acedia and Its Discontents, R. J. helps us think through how these concepts are realized in the context of family life and life on campus. As we will hear, our everyday work is the ordinary means by which we participate not only in the perfection of God's creation but also in the perfection of our very selves. Our work is where the rubber meets the road; it is where mere aspiration is turned into actual reality. Ultimately, work is where heaven and earth merge. In realizing this often hidden truth, we may thereby discover that divine drama which is not a sisyphean cycle, but a spiral staircase. Chapters 1:17 Work as a gift 2:22 Error of thinking that work is a result of the Fall 3:23 Garden of Eden as in a state of potency: Adam and Eve are called to fill it 5:30 Work as part of being made in the image of God 7:15 How work fulfills us 7:35 Husbandry of the self 8:25 God's rule through our own self rule: participated theonomy 10:08 Work as the primary way of exercising self-governance 12:50 Cultivating the soil: on the way to beauty 14:25 The friendly universe 15:50 Grace perfects nature 16:41 The three tests of good work 18:45 The integrity of work and the worker's integrity 19:30 Bright-eyed children 21:25 Work as furnishing God's house 24:03 Education as cooperating with Grace 26:07 Acedia: a hatred of reality 27:05 Judge Holden and the desire for radical self-autonomy 30:00 Desert Fathers on acedia and the refusal of God's friendship 31:00 Sloth as the vice of our age 31:36 Natural history as the counter to acedia and reductionism 35:03 The little foxes: recognizing acedia creeping in 35:55 What you are doing now is where God is calling you 37:40 The divine drama of the most mundane things 38:50 Sabbath and rest Also on The Forum OptimalWork series with Kevin Majeres Why We Need Exposure to Nature by Eric Heil What Is the Difference between Free Time and Leisure? by Joe Bissex Additional Resources Portsmouth Institute Family, Leisure, and the Restoration of Culture by R. J. Snell Acedia and Its Discontents: Metaphysical Boredom in an Empire of Desire by R. J. Snell Summa Theologiae, II.2.35: Sloth by St. Thomas Aquinas
Nationally recognized religious freedom expert Dr. Ryan T. Anderson delivered an exclusive talk to the Christendom community on Monday, January 30, titled: “‘Marriage Equality': Religious Freedom or a ‘License to Discriminate'?”Anderson is the William E. Simon Senior Research Fellow in American Principles and Public Policy at The Heritage Foundation, and the founder and editor of Public Discourse, the online journal of the Witherspoon Institute. He is the author of the just-released book Truth Overruled: The Future of Marriage and Religious Freedom and the co-author with Princeton's Robert P. George and Sherif Girgis of the book What Is Marriage? Man and Woman: A Defense. Anderson's research has been cited by two U.S. Supreme Court justices, Justice Samuel Alito and Justice Clarence Thomas, in two U.S. Supreme Court cases.Anderson received his B.A. from Princeton University and received his doctoral degree in political philosophy from the University of Notre Dame. He has made appearances on ABC, CNN, CNBC, MSNBC, and Fox News, including appearance on This Week with George Stephanopoulos and Piers Morgan Live. Anderson's work has also appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, First Things, and Principles.
Nationally recognized religious freedom expert Dr. Ryan T. Anderson delivered an exclusive talk to the Christendom community on Monday, January 30, titled: “‘Marriage Equality': Religious Freedom or a ‘License to Discriminate'?”Anderson is the William E. Simon Senior Research Fellow in American Principles and Public Policy at The Heritage Foundation, and the founder and editor of Public Discourse, the online journal of the Witherspoon Institute. He is the author of the just-released book Truth Overruled: The Future of Marriage and Religious Freedom and the co-author with Princeton's Robert P. George and Sherif Girgis of the book What Is Marriage? Man and Woman: A Defense. Anderson's research has been cited by two U.S. Supreme Court justices, Justice Samuel Alito and Justice Clarence Thomas, in two U.S. Supreme Court cases.Anderson received his B.A. from Princeton University and received his doctoral degree in political philosophy from the University of Notre Dame. He has made appearances on ABC, CNN, CNBC, MSNBC, and Fox News, including appearance on This Week with George Stephanopoulos and Piers Morgan Live. Anderson's work has also appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, First Things, and Principles.
Impact 360 Podcast listeners, we are so excited to introduce you to one of our favorite resources this week! Impact Answers is our series where we give quick answers to some of life's biggest questions. Now you'll be able to listen to these right in your podcast feed. Join us this week as Dr. Ryan Anderson answers the question "What is religious liberty?"Ryan T. Anderson, Ph.D., is the President of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, and the Founding Editor of Public Discourse, the online journal of the Witherspoon Institute of Princeton, New Jersey.He is the author or co-author of five books, including the forthcoming Tearing Us Apart: How Abortion Harms Everything and Solves Nothing. Previous books include When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Moment, Truth Overruled: The Future of Marriage and Religious Freedom, What Is Marriage? Man and Woman: A Defense, and Debating Religious Liberty and Discrimination.For 9 years he was the William E. Simon senior research fellow at The Heritage Foundation, and has served as an adjunct professor of philosophy and political science at Christendom College, and a Visiting Fellow at the Veritas Center at Franciscan University. He has also served as an assistant editor of First Things.Follow him on Twitter at @RyanTAnd and for his latest essays and videos you can follow his public Facebook page.For more information about Impact 360 Institute, please visit impact360.org.
Conservatism today, whether animated by concern for lost political greatness or by dismay over the evisceration of traditional morality, has grown skeptical of the case for personal liberty and for market freedom. Individual liberty is condemned on account of the excesses of radical autonomy, the free market on account of corrupt practices of wealthy corporations. Drawing on insights from leading figures in the liberal tradition, Professor James Stoner will argue that a balanced account of human happiness and the common good includes ample room for personal freedom and free enterprise, in the context of moral law and political right. Professor James R. Stoner, Jr., is the Hermann Moyse, Jr., Professor and Director of the Eric Voegelin Institute in the Department of Political Science at LSU. He is the author of Common-Law Liberty: Rethinking American Constitutionalism (Kansas, 2003) and Common Law and Liberal Theory: Coke, Hobbes, and the Origins of American Constitutionalism (Kansas, 1992), as well as a number of articles and essays. In 2009 he was named a Senior Fellow of the Witherspoon Institute of Princeton, New Jersey; he has co-edited three books published by Witherspoon, The Thriving Society: On the Social Conditions of Human Flourishing (with Harold James, 2015), The Social Costs of Pornography: A Collection of Papers (with Donna M. Hughes, 2010), and Rethinking Business Management: Examining the Foundations of Business Education (with Samuel Gregg, 2008). He was the 2010 recipient of the Honors College Sternberg Professorship at LSU. He is a senior fellow of the Austin Institute for the Study of Family and Culture. Dr. Stoner has taught at LSU since 1988, chaired the Department of Political Science from 2007 to 2013, and served as Acting Dean of the Honors College in fall 2010. He was a member of the National Council on the Humanities from 2002 to 2006. In 2002-03 he was a visiting fellow in the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions at Princeton University, where he returned in the 2013-14 academic year as Garwood Visiting Professor in the fall and Visiting Fellow in the spring. He has teaching and research interests in political theory, English common law, and American constitutionalism. YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zyz0LbSp1WU
Today, we have a very special guest with us, Katy Francisco. Her name might sound a little familiar to some listeners as her brother, Matt Doran, was a special guest on our show in Season 1. Like her brother, Katy was born from donor conception and has been an advocate for the donor conceived community by sharing her story and supporting restorative reproductive medicine. Katy served 6 years as Operations Manager for CanaVox, the marriage and family project of the Witherspoon Institute, and 3 years for the International Institute for Restorative Reproductive Medicine as secretariat. Read Katy's Story Here: https://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2020/01/59169/Listen to her brother, Matt's, interview on Venus Rising. To find out more information on restorative reproductive medicine visit: Iirrm.orgListen to Dr. Naomi Whittaker or Dr. Susan Caldwell, both physicians practicing restorative reproductive medicine, on Venus Rising!Support for the Donor Conceived Community: Anonymousus.org Wearedonorconceived.com Donorchildren.org
This walk was given on September 21, 2021 at Yale University. For more information on upcoming events, please visit our website at www.thomisticinstitute.org. About the speaker: R. J. Snell is Director of Academic Programs at the Witherspoon Institute in Princeton, NJ. Prior to his appointment at the Witherspoon Institute, he was Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Philosophy Program at Eastern University and the Templeton Honors College, where he founded and directed the Agora Institute for Civic Virtue and the Common Good. He has been visiting instructor at Princeton University, where he is also executive director of the Aquinas Institute for Catholic Life. He's written books and articles on natural law, education, Bernard Lonergan, boredom, subjectivity, and sexual ethics for a variety of publications.
This week we're joined by R.J. Snell, Editor-in-Chief of Public Discourse and Director of Academic Programs at the Witherspoon Institute to discuss his recent article, "Lost in the Chaos: The Danger of Total Politics" and his practical tips on how to help end political chaos. In our action item, we're discussing getting involved in local decision-making through your local school board especially as elections are just around the corner.
The Hundredth Anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party – Westminster Institute (westminster-institute.org) Chen Guangcheng is a blind Chinese civil rights activist, known internationally as “the barefoot lawyer.” Blind since infancy, illiterate until his late teens, he taught himself law and became a fierce advocate for his country's voiceless poor. For his trouble, he spent more than four years in prison on charges of “disturbing public order” and was then held under strict house arrest in his heavily guarded home in Shandong province from 2010 to 2012. In a daring escape that captured worldwide headlines, he fled to the U.S. embassy in Beijing. After high-level negotiations between the U.S. and China, Mr. Chen was allowed to leave for America. Since 2013, he has been a senior research fellow at Catholic University of America, the Witherspoon Institute, and the Lantos Foundation. Chen has written a riveting memoir and a revealing portrait of modern China, titled The Barefoot Lawyer: A Blind Man's Fight for Justice and Freedom in China. The Atlantic Monthly said, “This exceptional book will join the ranks of classic accounts of individual bravery, principle, and vision in the face of cruelty and repression. Chen Guangcheng is known around the world for the daring of his escape from captivity; as The Barefoot Lawyer makes clear, his journey and the accomplishments before that were at least as remarkable. Anyone who wants to understand the struggle for China's future, being waged inside that country and by friends of China around the world, will want to read this book.”
In today's episode, Saurabh, Nick and guest Ryan T. Anderson, President of the Ethics & Public Policy Center, discuss life on the farm, developing strong family culture, the Ahmari vs. French debate, and how conservatives can fight back against Big Tech.Ryan T. Anderson, Ph.D., is the President of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, and the Founding Editor of Public Discourse, the online journal of the Witherspoon Institute of Princeton, New Jersey.He is the author of When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Moment and Truth Overruled: The Future of Marriage and Religious Freedom. He is the co-author of What Is Marriage? Man and Woman: A Defense and Debating Religious Liberty and Discrimination, and the co-editor of A Liberalism Safe for Catholicism? Perspectives from “The Review of Politics.”Anderson's research has been cited by two U.S. Supreme Court justices, Justice Samuel Alito and Justice Clarence Thomas, in two Supreme Court cases.He received his bachelor of arts degree from Princeton University, graduating Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude, and he received his doctoral degree in political philosophy from the University of Notre Dame. His dissertation was titled: “Neither Liberal Nor Libertarian: A Natural Law Approach to Social Justice and Economic Rights.”Anderson has made appearances on ABC, CNN, CNBC, MSNBC, and Fox News. His work has been published by the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy, the Harvard Health Policy Review, the Georgetown Journal of Law and Public Policy, First Things, the Claremont Review of Books, and National Review.He is the John Paul II Teaching Fellow in Social Thought at the University of Dallas, a member of the James Madison Society at Princeton University, and a Fellow of the Institute for Human Ecology at the Catholic University of America.For 9 years he was the William E. Simon senior research fellow at The Heritage Foundation, and has served as an adjunct professor of philosophy and political science at Christendom College, and a Visiting Fellow at the Veritas Center at Franciscan University. He has also served as an assistant editor of First Things.Follow him on Twitter at @RyanTAnd and for his latest essays and videos you can follow his public Facebook page.Follow American Moment on Social Media:Twitter – https://twitter.com/AmMomentOrgFacebook – https://www.facebook.com/AmMomentOrgInstagram – https://www.instagram.com/ammomentorg/YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4qmB5DeiFxt53ZPZiW4TcgRumble – https://rumble.com/c/c-695775BitChute – https://www.bitchute.com/channel/Xr42d9swu7O9/Check out AmCanon:https://www.americanmoment.org/amcanon/Follow Us on Twitter:Saurabh Sharma – https://twitter.com/ssharmaUSNick Solheim – https://twitter.com/NickSSolheimAmerican Moment's "Moment of Truth" Podcast is recorded at the Conservative Partnership Center in Washington DC, produced and edited by Jared Cummings. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.
This lecture was given to the DC Young Professionals at St. Charles Catholic Church on March 15, 2021. For more information on upcoming events, please visit our website at www.thomisticinstitute.org About the Speaker: R. J. Snell is Director of Academic Programs at the Witherspoon Institute in Princeton, NJ. Prior to his appointment at the Witherspoon Institute, he was Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Philosophy Program at Eastern University and the Templeton Honors College, where he founded and directed the Agora Institute for Civic Virtue and the Common Good. He has been visiting instructor at Princeton University, where he is also executive director of the Aquinas Institute for Catholic Life. He's written books and articles on natural law, education, Bernard Lonergan, boredom, subjectivity, and sexual ethics for a variety of publications.
Today’s special guest dared to ask questions and present statements from healthcare experts and transgender patients three years ago in his book When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Moment. Now, he’s been blacklisted and cancelled by big tech. Ryan T. Anderson worked for many years at the Heritage Foundation and helped found Public Discourse, a journal of the Witherspoon Institute. He’s recently become the president of the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C., a conservative think tank "dedicated to applying the Judeo-Christian moral tradition to critical issues of public policy." A few weeks back, Ryan made headlines after When Harry Became Sally was banned from Amazon. The online behemoth’s decision has raised many questions about trans-ideology and its impact on society—questions about censorship, big tech, business monopoly, and the lack of accountability of powerful institutions. Carl, Todd, and Ryan sit down to discuss the long-term implications of this kind of censorship, and what could lie ahead. Show Notes · The Heritage Foundation · Public Discourse · Ethics and Public Policy Center (EPPC) We are pleased to give away a few copies of When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Moment. Register for the opportunity to win a free one, but if you don’t win, buy a copy directly from Encounter Books.
Ryan T. Anderson, Ph.D., is the President of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, and the Founding Editor of Public Discourse, the online journal of the Witherspoon Institute of Princeton, New Jersey.Discussing his new book, When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Moment which made news when it was banned by Amazon without explanation! (I’m Including a statement from The National Coalition Against Censorship, regarding Amazon’s decision.)
Dr. R.J. Snell, Director of Academic Programs at the Witherspoon Institute, discusses how the the vice of acedia haunts our postmodern culture. If you are interested in learning more about our M.A. in Faith and Culture, which is now online as well as on campus, please email cfc@stthom.edu You can also check out these social media pages: Our website A video that was made about the CFC Our Twitterpage Our Facebookpage Our Instagram page
Toward a New Feminism w/Leah Libresco Sargeant and Serena Sigillito To watch this on YouTube, head to: Toward a New Feminism w/Leah Libresco Sargeant and Serena Sigillito - YouTube Today on the show Leah and Serena join me to talk about feminism's 3rd (or 4th?) "wave," valuing women for who they are, freedom to be a woman rather than freedom from being a woman, and what pro-woman policy needs to look like. Serena Sigillito is Editor of Public Discourse, the journal of the Witherspoon Institute in Princeton, NJ. She recently completed a Robert Novak Journalism Fellowship focusing on contemporary American women’s experiences of work and motherhood. Serena earned her BA at the University of Dallas, where she studied English and Music, and her MA in English at the Catholic University of America, where she earned awards for her writing and teaching. In addition to Public Discourse, Serena also writes for a variety of other publications, such as Newsweek, America, The American Conservative, First Things, National Review, and Verily. You can follow her work at serenasigillito.substack.com. Leah Libresco Sargeant, who is also a Robert Novak Journalism Fellow, is a freelance writer whose work has appeared in First Things, The American Conservative, Plough, The Washington Post, and as of last week, The New York Times. She is the author of Arriving at Amen, which is the story of her conversion to Catholicism, and Building the Benedict Option. Leah earned her BA from Yale University in Political Science. You can follow Leah's new newsletter at otherfeminisms.substack.com. I'd love to hear what you think of this episode! Reach out to us: Email Other shows on the Vernacular Podcast Network: Vernacular | Breaking Pod | The Popped Cast | The Lineup
Is “social justice” the same as “biblical justice,” or do these concepts sometimes diverge? On the one hand, social justice seems deeply indebted to Christian thought and practice. On the other hand, some of its most active proponents today are secularists, sometimes even Marxist atheists. In light of such complications, how ought Christians interact with the “social justice movement” in the United States today?Recommended reading:Social Justice Rites: Sacrificial Politics and Sacred Victims by Molly Brigid McGrathJustice in the Bible by Timothy KellerBible Project Justice VideoJustin Giboney is an attorney and political strategist in Atlanta, GA. He is also the Co-Founder and President of the AND Campaign, which is a coalition of urban Christians who are determined to address the sociopolitical arena with the compassion and conviction of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Mr. Giboney has managed successful campaigns for elected officials in the state and referendums relating to the city’s transportation and water infrastructure. In 2012 and 2016, Georgia’s 5th congressional district elected him as a delegate for the Democratic National Convention and he served as the co-chair of Obama for America’s Gen44-Atlanta initiative. A former Vanderbilt University football player and law student, Justin served on the Urban League of Greater Atlanta Board of Directors. He’s written op-eds for publications such as Christianity Today and The Hill.R. J. Snell is the Director of Academic Programs at the Witherspoon Institute in Princeton, NJ, and is senior fellow at the Agora Institute for Civic Virtue and the Common Good. Prior to those appointments he was Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Philosophy Program at Eastern University and the Templeton Honors College. He earned his MA in philosophy at Boston College, and his PhD in philosophy at Marquette University. Research interests include the liberal arts, ethics, natural law theory, Thomas Aquinas, the Catholic intellectual tradition, and the work of Bernard Lonergan, SJ. He is the author of Through a Glass Darkly: Bernard Lonergan and Richard Rorty on Knowing without a God’s-eye View(Marquette, 2006), Authentic Cosmopolitanism (with Steve Cone, Pickwick, 2013), The Perspective of Love: Natural Law in a New Mode (Pickwick, 2014), Acedia and Its Discontents (Angelico, 2015), and co-editor of Subjectivity: Ancient and Modern and Nature: Ancient and Modern, as well as articles, chapters, and essays in a variety of scholarly and popular venues. He and his family reside in the Princeton area.David Corey is a professor of Political Science focusing on political philosophy in the Honors Program at Baylor University. He is also an affiliated member of the departments of Philosophy and Political Science. He was an undergraduate at Oberlin, where he earned a BA in Classics from the College and a BMus in music from the Conservatory. He studied law and jurisprudence at Old College, Edinburgh before taking up graduate work in political philosophy at Louisiana State University. He is the author of two books, The Just War Tradition (with J. Daryl Charles) (2012) and The Sophists in Plato’s Dialogues (2015). He has written more than two dozen articles and book chapters in such venues as the Review of PoliticsSupport the show (http://www.faithandlaw.org/donate)
It seems as though we’re all hunkered down in our political and ideological trenches these days. We hurl arguments like grenades, watching them explode from a “Twitter” distance away, high-fiving those on “our” side. Division is competing with COVID for pandemic status in our country. How do we, as believers, make our way through this division? We connect.Josh and Kit invite Ana Samuel, PhD to share practical ways for you to be loving and kind in a world that is anything but.You don’t have to slink away from the heated debates. As hard as it is, you can engage people of different world views. This is delicate business but it is necessary and do-able. Samuel is an expert in the art of human relationships and she brings the foundations of a personal approach to being a person.When it comes to the hot button issues, you don’t have to stick your head in the sand. Rather, come out of the trench and open your eyes to see others as good people, no matter their view. We hope you walk away from this episode with practical ways to love others well, especially those you don’t agree with.Guest Bio: Ana Samuel, PhD, is a Research Scholar at the Witherspoon Institute and the Academic Director of CanaVox, a movement that hosts reading groups around the world on marriage and sexuality from a natural law perspective. She completed her studies in political theory at Princeton University and focused on the political thought and sexual ethics of Montesquieu while at the University of Notre Dame. She is the grateful daughter of Mexican immigrants, the wife of an Argentine immigrant, and the mother of six children.Highlights:Learning to walk with people with tremendous finesse and patience and not coming into the relationship with an agenda but really wanting what is good for that personHaving your heart full of willingness to seek their good at their pace one on oneThe principals still apply that there is a very important foundation that I am for you even if I disagree with you.Homework:Deposits of Good Will - symbols, signs and actions that affirm you really care about the person as a wholeBuild your Base - Find like minded people you can trust. Base friendships offer trust, confidence and nourishment moving out in the world. “The more you work on you, the more you deepen in love and knowledge and understanding of these issues, and the more you talk about it with like minded people who agree, and the more you learn together - what naturally happens is that you don’t fear talking about these issues as much with others.”Am I looking out for the welfare of others? Do I want what is good for them?Situational Awareness: Samuel says this is foundational for good decision making. When we forget our place, we can find ourselves in hot water.Resources/Extras:Dr. Meg Meeker - Her definition of intimacy is - Into Me SeeSean Covey; “The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People”William Shakespeare “All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances.”Transcription:Full Transcription Available hereOriginal music by Shannon Smith. Audio engineering by Gabriel @ DelMar Sound Recording.Support Becoming Whole
This week on Family Policy Matters, R.J. Snell of the Culture of Life Foundation, the Witherspoon Institute, and Princeton University joins host Traci DeVette Griggs to discuss the many ethical questions we are all facing during the current COVID-19 pandemic, such as seeing ourselves as isolated individuals and making sure all parts of a person are valued mentally, emotionally, and spiritually, not only physically.
This week you can listen to the newsletter by clicking the play button above or you can click the “Listen in Podcast app” link and follow the directions to open this feed in your podcast app. Currently, you may find the feed on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, and Spotify. There are many features of Dante's Divine Comedy that are likely to puzzle the modern reader. The poem, for example, is stuffed with references to now obscure characters in classical mythology, to arcane debates in medieval philosophy, and to otherwise forgotten players in the tumultuous world of Florentine politics. The Comedy also confronts readers with a vivid rendering of medieval cosmology, in which hell occupies the center of the the earth and the earth sits at the center of a series of concentric spheres, each occupied by one of the seven planets* known to the pre-modern world and emanating outwards until one reaches the realm of God beyond the farthest sphere. Stepping into the imaginative world of the Comedy can understandably feel like stepping into a strange and foreign land. While Christian readers might be in a slightly better position to make sense of Dante's work, even they, depending to some degree on their theological background, will find any number of Dante's choices rather odd. The best known portion of the Comedy, the Inferno, famously depicts Dante's journey through the realm of the damned. Dante presents hell as a funnel-shaped structure leading down to the center of the earth. Hell is organized around a series of rings in each of which a particular sin is punished. It is clear that Dante is presenting his readers with a hierarchy of vice in which the gravity of the sins increases as Dante progresses downward. The more severe sins are punished in the lowest recesses of hell, while the upper circles punished sins Dante deemed less serious. Dante's schema offers contemporary readers an opportunity to consider their own hierarchy of sin and vice. How do we distinguish among the various ways in which we violate the moral law? What sins do we consider more severe? Which sins do we, at least implicitly, treat as less severe? Odds are most of us have thought less about this than Dante has. Odds are, too, that modern readers will take issue with at least some of Dante's judgments. Among the more curious and puzzling aspects of Dante's hierarchy, for example, strikes the reader when they realize that they have made their way through one half of the Inferno and Dante has already dispensed with all but one of the categories of sin. The Inferno composed of 34 cantos, which we can think of as chapters. By the time a reader finishes canto 17, a full half of the text of the Inferno remains but it will be devoted to entirely to the vice of fraud. A surprising development, to be sure. (Dante Before the City of Florence by Domenico di Michelino, 1465)We may be surprised, first, by the fact that Dante judges fraud to be a more severe sin than violence, which is the vice dealt with in the preceding ring. We may also be surprised by the fact that Dante devotes so much time to the vice of fraud. He manages to do by dividing fraud into two categories: fraud against those who have no particular reason to trust you and fraud against those who do. The former counts as a rupture of the bonds of common trust among all people, and the latter counts as a rupture of the special trust that forms among those who have established more personal bonds. Dante then divides the ring in which the former kind of fraud is punished into ten separate ditches, allowing him to distinguish among a variety of forms of fraud. Why does Dante devote so much time to the vice of fraud? Why does he consider it to be the most serious of sins, more serious even than murder? Why does he make such fine distinctions among the varieties of fraud?Part of the answer lies in how Dante thinks about sin in general. Following a Christianized Aristotelianism, Dante first distinguishes between sins of incontinence and sins of malice. The first several sins in Dante's schema involve an inability to control oneself. They are sins characterized by a lack of will power and the sudden loss of self-discipline. They are the sorts of sins we may want to resist, but find we ourselves to weak-willed to do so. Sins of malice, however, are what we might think of as pre-meditated sins. They do not involve a failure of willpower but rather an active willing to do harm. Sins of malice include violence against neighbor, violence against self, and violence against God. But Dante judges these sins to be less severe than the sin of fraud because fraud involves and corrupts what distinguishes human beings from the rest of creation. “Fraud is man's peculiar vice,” Dante writes, “God finds it more displeasing-and therefore, / the fraudulent are lower, suffering more.” One way to think about this is to recognize that intentional acts of fraud involve the uniquely human capacities of reason and speech. Any animal can become violent, but only the human animal is capable of defrauding another. In the Bible, the first act attributed to the human creature is the naming of animals. While we are tempted to read this as a merely endearing episode, especially for children, it suggests to us a profound truth. The truthful deployment of language is at the root of all distinctively human cultural activity. Before we do anything of consequence in the world, we must name it and thus employ our most remarkable tool, the gift of language. In doing so, we are also directly reflecting the God in whose image we have been made, the God whose first recorded act is also the use of language to speak the world into existence. So because it corrupts what is most essentially human, and thus most divine, in the person, Dante judges that fraud displeases God more and is worthy of greater punishment. It's worth noting, too, that Dante's work is informed not only by his vast learning, but also by his experience. Dante's life revolved around his poetry and his civic service to his beloved Florence, from which he was exiled when an opposing political faction came to power. The Comedy dwells on both matters theological and political. Contemporary readers are perhaps especially inclined to skim over the various discussions of Florentine politics, but these same sections now seem to take on a striking urgency. As Dante makes his way through the Inferno, one of the characters he encounters speaks of Florence as a “riven city,” and so too might we describe our own city and country. The disastrous consequences of deep and acrimonious factionalism haunted Dante's imagination, and they should trouble us, too. So it is not only the case that fraud is the gravest of sins, in Dante's view, because it corrupts our uniquely human capacities, it is the gravest of sins, too, because it corrupts the foundations of a just and peaceful civic order. Fraud destroys trust among people. Fraud strikes at the credibility and authority of vital public institutions. Fraud undermines the power of speech to order human relationship, in the absence of which we are left only with various forms of coercion. It should come as no surprise, then, that the record of the primeval history presented to us in Genesis 1-11 begins with the fruitful use of language to bring about what is good and culminates with the corruption of speech as an act of judgment for humanity's recalcitrant sinfulness.Trust is a precondition of meaningful communication and fruitful public discourse, it is an essential component of a well-ordered society. Dante understood that pervasive fraud, in its various personal and institutional manifestations, erodes the foundations of civil society by engendering distrust and the presumption of bad faith. If at first we are perplexed by Dante's judgment, exploring his reasoning should make us a touch more sympathetic. And if we ponder Dante's choice at greater length, we may even come to see that he is on to something important, something vital, which we ignore at our peril. —————* The medieval planets did not include Neptune or Uranus, which were not visible to the naked eye. They also included the moon and the stars, which we today do not count as planets. For a fascinating discussion of medieval cosmology, see C. S. Lewis's The Discarded Image. Study Center ResourcesPascal's will be closed from July 27th through July 5th. We'll be open again on Monday, July 7th. In next week's Dante reading group, we will be covering cantos 20-22 of the Inferno. If you'd like to connect with group, please email Mike Sacasas at mike@christianstudycenter.org.Be sure to check out the archive of resources available online from the study center. Classes and lectures are available at our audio archive. You can also peruse back issues of Reconsiderations here.Recommended Reading— In Comment, Tara Isabella Burton reflects on a more thoroughly Christian epistemology:Finally, we must preserve a faith in imperfect, but nevertheless useful, human communication: language as a site where something real, albeit never something total or complete, can be meaningfully conveyed. The danger that the social-justice model is most susceptible to is a kind of relational nihilism—our experiences are so distinct that we can never really understand one another; the irreducibility of persons becomes mass unintelligibility. Yet, in light of a theology predicated on the Word made flesh, we are called to understand, however humbly, conversation and dialogue as meaningful sites of operation.— Philip Porter explores a Christian understanding of death, lament, and hope in “Not As Others Who Have No Hope”:Death is not natural. It's an interruption of the natural, a waylaying of plans and friendships and desires. This is true even of the holy dead who see the Lord face-to-face now as souls separated from their bodies. Though in heaven, they too remain in a state unnatural to humans. To be a human is to be a body-soul—not one and the other, but both together, at once. A human soul, even in heaven, if it's not united to a human body, is not a human being. It instead remains in expectation of being so again, of reunion with its body at the general resurrection. But the unnaturalness of death isn't obvious to most. In fact, it's likely you've heard someone, perhaps many people, tell you, “Death is just a part of life.” But for Christians this can't be true. Christians are instead confronted by death as an irruption, a festering wound, a ghastly mark on the beautiful handiwork of the Lord's cosmos. — Lyman Stone examines the data on police violence for the Witherspoon Institute. “Above the Law: The Data Are In on Police, Killing, and Race”:Police violence in America is extraordinary in its intensity. It is disproportionate to the actual threats facing police officers, and it has risen significantly in recent years without apparent justification. Its effects are felt across all racial groups, with non-Hispanic whites making up half of all people killed by police officers, even as African Americans are killed at disproportionately high rates compared to any reasonable baseline. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit christianstudycenter.substack.com
This lecture was given at a conference on "Love, Friendship, and Happiness," co-sponsored with the Scala Foundation and the Aquinas Institute at Princeton Theological Seminary on February 15, 2020. This conference featured Prof. Erika Kidd (University of St. Thomas), Prof. Craig Titus (Divine Mercy University), Prof. Anna Moreland (Villanova University), and Dr. RJ Snell (The Witherspoon Institute). R. J. Snell is Director of the Center on the University and Intellectual Life. Prior to his appointment at the Witherspoon Institute, he was for many years Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Philosophy Program at Eastern University and the Templeton Honors College, where he founded and directed the Agora Institute for Civic Virtue and the Common Good. He earned his M.A. in philosophy at Boston College, and his Ph.D. in philosophy at Marquette University. Research interests include the liberal arts, ethics, natural law theory, Thomas Aquinas, the Catholic intellectual tradition, and the work of Bernard Lonergan, SJ. He is the author of Through a Glass Darkly: Bernard Lonergan and Richard Rorty on Knowing without a God’s-eye View (Marquette, 2006), Authentic Cosmopolitanism (with Steve Cone, Pickwick, 2013), The Perspective of Love: Natural Law in a New Mode (Pickwick, 2014), Acedia and Its Discontents (Angelico, 2015), and co-editor of Subjectivity: Ancient and Modern (Lexington, 2016) and Nature: Ancient and Modern (Lexington), as well as articles, chapters, and essays in a variety of scholarly and popular venues. He and his family reside in the Princeton area. For more information on this and other events go to thomisticinstitute.org/events-1
In Mind, Heart, and Soul: Intellectuals and the Path to Rome (TAN Books, 2018), a cradle Catholic (Robert P. George; McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence and Director of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions, Princeton University) and an adult convert (R. J. Snell; Director of Academic Programs at the Witherspoon Institute, Princeton University), offer the stories of sixteen Catholic converts, each an intellectual or leading voice in their respective fields. While some of these academics, intellectuals, or cultural commentators are well-known, their stories may not be. Here they speak for themselves, providing the reasons for belief that prompted these accomplished men and women to embrace the ancient faith. Included are interviews with a bishop, a leading theologian and priest, a member of the International Theological Commission, a former megachurch pastor, a prominent pro-life scholar, professors from Harvard and other universities, as well as journalists and writers, novelists and scholars. Each are interviewed by another leading scholar, many of whom are themselves converts and familiar with the hesitations, anxieties, discoveries, and hopes of those who discover Catholicism. Will Sipling is currently an independent scholar, with published research on religion and psychology, liturgical studies, and Frankfurt School social theory. He was previously a fellow of the Department of Catholic Studies and the Thomas J. Murphy Institute for Catholic Thought, Law, and Public Policy at the University of St. Thomas (Minnesota) while earning a master’s degree. Will previously studied at Dallas Theological Seminary, writing a thesis on sacramental and liturgical theology. You can follow his work at williamsipling.com or at @will_sipling. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In Mind, Heart, and Soul: Intellectuals and the Path to Rome (TAN Books, 2018), a cradle Catholic (Robert P. George; McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence and Director of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions, Princeton University) and an adult convert (R. J. Snell; Director of Academic Programs at the Witherspoon Institute, Princeton University), offer the stories of sixteen Catholic converts, each an intellectual or leading voice in their respective fields. While some of these academics, intellectuals, or cultural commentators are well-known, their stories may not be. Here they speak for themselves, providing the reasons for belief that prompted these accomplished men and women to embrace the ancient faith. Included are interviews with a bishop, a leading theologian and priest, a member of the International Theological Commission, a former megachurch pastor, a prominent pro-life scholar, professors from Harvard and other universities, as well as journalists and writers, novelists and scholars. Each are interviewed by another leading scholar, many of whom are themselves converts and familiar with the hesitations, anxieties, discoveries, and hopes of those who discover Catholicism. Will Sipling is currently an independent scholar, with published research on religion and psychology, liturgical studies, and Frankfurt School social theory. He was previously a fellow of the Department of Catholic Studies and the Thomas J. Murphy Institute for Catholic Thought, Law, and Public Policy at the University of St. Thomas (Minnesota) while earning a master’s degree. Will previously studied at Dallas Theological Seminary, writing a thesis on sacramental and liturgical theology. You can follow his work at williamsipling.com or at @will_sipling. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In Mind, Heart, and Soul: Intellectuals and the Path to Rome (TAN Books, 2018), a cradle Catholic (Robert P. George; McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence and Director of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions, Princeton University) and an adult convert (R. J. Snell; Director of Academic Programs at the Witherspoon Institute, Princeton University), offer the stories of sixteen Catholic converts, each an intellectual or leading voice in their respective fields. While some of these academics, intellectuals, or cultural commentators are well-known, their stories may not be. Here they speak for themselves, providing the reasons for belief that prompted these accomplished men and women to embrace the ancient faith. Included are interviews with a bishop, a leading theologian and priest, a member of the International Theological Commission, a former megachurch pastor, a prominent pro-life scholar, professors from Harvard and other universities, as well as journalists and writers, novelists and scholars. Each are interviewed by another leading scholar, many of whom are themselves converts and familiar with the hesitations, anxieties, discoveries, and hopes of those who discover Catholicism. Will Sipling is currently an independent scholar, with published research on religion and psychology, liturgical studies, and Frankfurt School social theory. He was previously a fellow of the Department of Catholic Studies and the Thomas J. Murphy Institute for Catholic Thought, Law, and Public Policy at the University of St. Thomas (Minnesota) while earning a master's degree. Will previously studied at Dallas Theological Seminary, writing a thesis on sacramental and liturgical theology. You can follow his work at williamsipling.com or at @will_sipling. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In Mind, Heart, and Soul: Intellectuals and the Path to Rome (TAN Books, 2018), a cradle Catholic (Robert P. George; McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence and Director of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions, Princeton University) and an adult convert (R. J. Snell; Director of Academic Programs at the Witherspoon Institute, Princeton University), offer the stories of sixteen Catholic converts, each an intellectual or leading voice in their respective fields. While some of these academics, intellectuals, or cultural commentators are well-known, their stories may not be. Here they speak for themselves, providing the reasons for belief that prompted these accomplished men and women to embrace the ancient faith. Included are interviews with a bishop, a leading theologian and priest, a member of the International Theological Commission, a former megachurch pastor, a prominent pro-life scholar, professors from Harvard and other universities, as well as journalists and writers, novelists and scholars. Each are interviewed by another leading scholar, many of whom are themselves converts and familiar with the hesitations, anxieties, discoveries, and hopes of those who discover Catholicism. Will Sipling is currently an independent scholar, with published research on religion and psychology, liturgical studies, and Frankfurt School social theory. He was previously a fellow of the Department of Catholic Studies and the Thomas J. Murphy Institute for Catholic Thought, Law, and Public Policy at the University of St. Thomas (Minnesota) while earning a master’s degree. Will previously studied at Dallas Theological Seminary, writing a thesis on sacramental and liturgical theology. You can follow his work at williamsipling.com or at @will_sipling. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Check out our high school offerings at www.tikvahfund.org/hs In our cultural moment, society’s disregard of qualitative reasoning in favor of quantitative analysis–what spiritual master Rene Guenon dubbed “The Reign of Quantity”–has left a gaping hole in issues relating to morality, spirituality, and meaning. In this episode, Dr. Snell discusses questions such as: What is reason in the 21st century? Do the worlds of philosophical reasoning and empirical analysis speak different languages? Can these languages be meaningfully brought into conversation with one another? Where do they exhibit similarities and how do they differ? RJ Snell directs the Center on Ethics and the University at the Witherspoon Institute in Princeton, NJ, and is senior fellow at the Agora Institute for Civic Virtue and the Common Good. Read more about The Nature of Reason course at: https://www.dropbox.com/s/468i4ig58yz79vm/The%20Nature%20of%20Reason%20in%20Western%20and%20Jewish%20Thought%20-%20Readers.pdf?dl=0 This course is generously sponsored by the John Templeton Foundation.
This week on Family Policy Matters, NC Family Communications Director Traci DeVette Griggs sits down with Dr. R.J. Snell of the Witherspoon Institute to discuss what it means to be human and how our culture’s current views of life and death reflect an attitude of entitlement, as many view their bodies as machines they own rather than as embodied souls they have been gifted.
Chen Guangcheng is a blind Chinese civil rights activist, known internationally as “the barefoot lawyer.” Blind since infancy, illiterate until his late teens, he taught himself law and became a fierce advocate for his country’s voiceless poor. For his trouble, he spent more than four years in prison on charges of “disturbing public order” and was then held under strict house arrest in his heavily guarded home in Shandong province from 2010 to 2012. In a daring escape that captured worldwide headlines, he fled to the U.S. embassy in Beijing. After high-level negotiations between the U.S. and China, Mr. Chen was allowed to leave for America. Since 2013, he has been a senior research fellow at Catholic University of America, the Witherspoon Institute, and the Lantos Foundation. Chen has written a riveting memoir and a revealing portrait of modern China, titled The Barefoot Lawyer: A Blind Man’s Fight for Justice and Freedom in China. The Atlantic Monthly said, “This exceptional book will join the ranks of classic accounts of individual bravery, principle, and vision in the face of cruelty and repression. Chen Guangcheng is known around the world for the daring of his escape from captivity; as The Barefoot Lawyer makes clear, his journey and the accomplishments before that were at least as remarkable. Anyone who wants to understand the struggle for China’s future, being waged inside that country and by friends of China around the world, will want to read this book.”
This lecture was offered at UVA on March 21st, 2019. For more info on upcoming TI events, visit: https://thomisticinstitute.org/events-1 Speaker Bio: R. J. Snell is Director of the Center on the University and Intellectual Life. Prior to his appointment at the Witherspoon Institute, he was for many years Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Philosophy Program at Eastern University and the Templeton Honors College, where he founded and directed the Agora Institute for Civic Virtue and the Common Good. He earned his M.A. in philosophy at Boston College, and his Ph.D. in philosophy at Marquette University. Research interests include the liberal arts, ethics, natural law theory, Thomas Aquinas, the Catholic intellectual tradition, and the work of Bernard Lonergan, SJ. He is the author of Through a Glass Darkly: Bernard Lonergan and Richard Rorty on Knowing without a God’s-eye View (Marquette, 2006), Authentic Cosmopolitanism (with Steve Cone, Pickwick, 2013), The Perspective of Love: Natural Law in a New Mode (Pickwick, 2014), Acedia and Its Discontents (Angelico, 2015), and co-editor of Subjectivity: Ancient and Modern (Lexington, 2016) and Nature: Ancient and Modern (Lexington), as well as articles, chapters, and essays in a variety of scholarly and popular venues. He and his family reside in the Princeton area.
Matthew J. Franck is the Director of the William E. and Carol G. Simon Center on Religion and the Constitution. He is Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Radford University, where he taught constitutional law, American politics, and political philosophy from 1989-2010. He is also a Visiting Lecturer in Politics at Princeton University. As director of the center, he helps maintain the Witherspoon Institute’s relationships with the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, the Alliance Defending Freedom, the American Religious Freedom Program at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, and the Religious Freedom Project of Georgetown University. Franck earned his B.A. in political science (magna cum laude) from Virginia Wesleyan College and his M.A. and Ph.D. in political science from Northern Illinois University. He was a Henry J. Salvatori Fellow at the Heritage Foundation, 1993-95, J. William Fulbright Professor of American Studies at the Graduate School of International Studies, Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea, 1998, and a Visiting Fellow in the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions at Princeton University, 2008-09. He is the author of Against the Imperial Judiciary (1996), coeditor of Sober as a Judge (1999), and a contributor to History of American Political Thought (2003), The Heritage Guide to the Constitution (2005, 2012), and The George W. Bush Presidency: A Rhetorical Perspective (2012). His writing regularly appears peer-reviewed sources such as The Review of Politics, American Political Thought, Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics, and Public Policy. He is also a regular blogger for National Review Online’s “Bench Memo’s” page and the “First Thoughts” page at First Things. Twitter: @MatthewJFranck Website: winst.org/about/staff/matthew-j-franck-phd
This discussion is a part of IWP's China series. About the Lecture: The Chinese Communist Party has ruled China for decades, bringing untold disaster upon the Chinese people. Why is it so tenacious, and why do democratic nations continue to engage with it? With decades of experience facing off against communist authorities, human rights activist Chen Guangcheng illuminates the structure of the party-state system in China and its disastrous impact on both Chinese citizens domestically and democratic nations abroad. About the Speaker: Chen Guangcheng, known to many as "the barefoot lawyer," was born and raised in a poor, remote village in Shandong, China. Blind since infancy and barred from school until his late teens, he nonetheless taught himself law as a young adult and became a committed advocate for the poor, disabled, and persecuted. His work drew the ire of the authorities, leading to over seven years of harassment including repeated house arrests, detention in black jails, and over four years in prison. After twenty months of brutal isolation in his own home, on April 20, 2012, he made a dramatic escape that caught the attention of international media. The American embassy in Beijing secured his temporary safety before high-level diplomatic negotiations enabled his exodus to the US. Since beginning his advocacy work, Mr. Chen has been the recipient of numerous awards including Time Magazine 100 Most Influential List (2006), The Ramon Magsaysay Award (2007), The Lantos Human Rights Prize (2012), the UK Parliament's Westminster Award (2013), and the Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy Courage Award (2014). Chen is a frequent media commentator as well as guest speaker at conferences and events around the world. He has established a not-for-profit foundation to further human rights in China, and serves as Visiting Fellow at the Catholic University of America, Distinguished Senior Fellow in Human Rights at the Witherspoon Institute, and Senior Distinguished Advisor to the Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice. Mr. Chen's memoir, The Barefoot Lawyer: A Blind Man's Fight for Justice and Freedom in China, was released by Henry Holt Publishers in 2015 and has since been translated into eight languages worldwide.
An interview with Dr. R.J. Snell, Director of the Center on the University and Intellectual Life at the Witherspoon Institute, talking about his new book "Mind, Heart, and Soul: Intellectuals and the Path to Rome." We explore not only features of conversion and the intellectual life, but the way in which conversion contributes to the Common Good and is truly a communal effort on the part of the Church.
What does the Supreme Court ruling on the Masterpiece Cakeshop signify for religious freedom from the conservative perspective? Should the decision be celebrated or not quite yet?The crew welcomes Dr. Matthew Franck to shed some insight on this case and to answer a few other questions. He's Director of the William E. and Carol G. Simon Center on Religion and the Constitution and author of a vast number of publications.As a scholar of constitutional law, Matt attaches himself to the text and its original meaning and reminds us that the free exercise of religion is in the first amendment and, therefore, superior to other societal notions of “freedom”. He also offers helpful advice to Christian individuals and small institutions. Grab a piece of cake and join us!Show NotesAbout Matt FranckAlliance Defending FreedomThe Anscombe SocietyPrinceton Pro-LifeThe Public DiscourseMasterpiece Cakeshop X Colorado Civil Rights Commission Book What is Marriage?: Man and Woman: A DefenseBook Truth Overruled: The Future of Marriage and Religious FreedomBook When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender MomentEssay The Power of the PowerlessWe are grateful to our guest Matt Franck and to the Witherspoon Institute for giving us copies of Religious Freedom: Why Now? Defending an Embattled Human Rightto be given away. You just need to sign up for the opportunity to win one.
Ryan T. Anderson sits down with Ben Weingarten to discuss his new book 'When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Moment', and a series of topics including the science and politics around transgenderism, stories of those who have detransitioned, the influence of transgender ideology in schools and much more. Learn more in 'When Harry Became Sally': https://www.encounterbooks.com/books/when-harry-became-sally-responding-to-the-transgender-moment/ Ryan T. Anderson William E. Simon Senior Research Fellow in American Principles and Public Policy at The Heritage Foundation, and the founder and editor of Public Discourse, the online journal of the Witherspoon Institute of Princeton, New Jersey. Follow him on Twitter: @RyanTAnd. Ben Weingarten is a Senior Fellow of the London Center for Policy Research and a Senior Contributor to The Federalist. Follow him on Twitter: @bhweingarten. 'Freeway' by Kurt Vile is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License. Download 'Freeway' here: tinyurl.com/p4tkyfb
Carl and Aimee have the privilege of talking to Ryan Anderson today. His most recent book is entitled When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Moment. And it's provoked, dare we say, strong reactions in the media in just the a few weeks since its publication. But what's the stir all about? Well, we're about to find out!Today, Dr. Anderson talks about the relationship between gender dysphoria and the overemphasizing of sex stereotypes. He addresses male and female bodily differences and how those differences affect the way we relate in marriage and friendships. What are the factors that determine one's gender? Physical reality versus emotional feelings of dissatisfaction with one's body, and if a person can overcome those feelings.The questions are many, but Dr. Anderson walks us through and leaves a picture of how a healthy culture is able to recognize the equal dignity of the sexes. And at the same time, its complementary differences. Lots of ground to cover!Grab a snack and join us in this pleasant and very important conversation.And, of course, we're giving away copies of Dr. Ryan Anderson's book When Harry Became Sally which are a gift from our friends at Encounter Books. Sign up for a chance to win one!Show NotesDr. Ryan T. Anderson is the William E. Simon Senior Research Fellow in American Principles and Public Policy of the Heritage Foundation and the Founder and Editor of the Public Discourse Online Journal of the Witherspoon Institute - The Heritage Foundation- The Witherspoon Institute - Public Discourse Online Journal- Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) - 5- Transgender Ideology is Riddled with Contradictions. Here Are the Big Ones.- Sex Change: Physically Impossible, Psychosocially Unhelpful, and Philosophically Misguided
Can modern medicine really “reassign” sex? Is sex something “assigned” in the first place? What’s the loving response to a friend or child experiencing a gender-identity conflict? What should our law say on these issues? "When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Moment" provides thoughtful answers to all of these questions. Drawing on the best insights from biology, psychology, and philosophy, Ryan T. Anderson offers a balanced approach to the policy issues, a nuanced vision of human embodiment, and a sober and honest survey of the human costs of getting human nature wrong. He reveals a grim contrast between the media’s sunny depiction and the often sad realities of gender-identity struggles. He introduces readers to people who tried to “transition” but found themselves no better off. Especially troubling is the suffering felt by adults who were encouraged to transition as children but later came to regret it. Ryan T. Anderson, Ph.D., is the William E. Simon senior research fellow at The Heritage Foundation, and the founder and editor of Public Discourse, the online journal of the Witherspoon Institute of Princeton, New Jersey.
A distracted John Gerardi multitasks between watching Notre Dame's first-round game in the NCAA basketball tournament, and hosting a radio show. He leads off the show discussing his appearance on KSEE 24's Sunday Morning Matters tv show, chats with Jonathan Keller from California Family Council about potential conflicts between California law and the new Republican healthcare proposal, and talks Congress and the Supreme Court. KSEE 24 story: http://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/panel-tackles-healthcare-bill-abortion-and-high-speed-rail/669658269 Story about California/Republican Healthcare conflict: http://cbsloc.al/2lYEkbs Witherspoon Institute column on Stare Decisis: http://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2017/03/18762/
Matt Franck of the Witherspoon Institute gave tribute to the legacy of Antonin Scalia on Bill Bennett's Morning in America. Michael Medved asked former Federal Appeals Court Judge Michael McConnell if the Senate should approve of Obama's upcoming nominee to replace Scalia. Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio both talked with Hugh Hewitt about Justice Scalia. Author Gordon Chang spoke with Bill Bennett about China's aggressive moves in the South China Sea. John Eastman of the Chapman School of Law shared his thoughts about Scalia. Dennis Prager pondered the outcome of a liberal replacement for the late Justice.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
A 75-minute discussion between scholars with a live teacher audience, this program explores the impact of several key US Supreme Court cases on the definition and limits of religious liberty in America, originally broadcast on 3 October 2015. Jeff Sikkenga (Ashland University) and Matthew Franck (Witherspoon Institute) will discuss three recent Supreme Court cases that dealt with religion: Burwell v. Hobby Lobby; Abercrombie and Fitch v. the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission; and Holt v. Hobbs. In the Hobby Lobby case the court ruled that closely-held for profit companies were exempt from provisions of the Affordable Care Act that violated the religious beliefs of the companies owners. The Court’s opinion may be found here. The Abercrombie case concerned the decision of Abercrombie and Fitch not to hire someone because they wore a head scarf, which violated the company’s dress code. The court ruled that the job applicant did not have to specifically ask for the company to accommodate her religious practice (the head scarf) in order for the job applicant to be protected by Title VII’s prohibition on the basis of religion. The Court’s opinion may be found here. In Hobbs v. Holt, the Court ruled that prison authorities could not prevent an inmate from growing a beard for religious reasons because doing so violated the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act. The Court’s decision may be found here. Matthew J. Franck is the Director of the William E. and Carol G. Simon Center on Religion and the Constitution at the Witherspoon Institute, Princeton, New Jersey. He is Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Radford University, in Radford, Virginia, where he taught constitutional law, American politics, and political philosophy from 1989 to 2010, was Chairman of the Department of Political Science from 1995 to 2010, and received the Radford University Foundation Award for Creative Scholarship in 2001. He is also Visiting Lecturer in Politics at Princeton University. Jeffrey Sikkenga is professor of political science at Ashland University, adjunct fellow of the John M. Ashbrook Center and senior fellow in the Program on Constitutionalism and Democracy at the University of Virginia. He has taught undergraduate and graduate courses in political thought, the American Founding and American constitutional law. He is deeply interested in the relationship between politics and religion in liberal democracy and America in particular. This Webinar is the second in a series of three on Religion in American History and Politics. The third will occur March 12, 2016. David Tucker and Stephen Knott will discuss the views of Jefferson and Hamilton on religion and politics. The post Webinar: Religious Liberty and the Courts appeared first on Teaching American History.
Education reformers have, for decades, decried the achievement gap among students and espoused the inequality of education throughout the nation. This is one of the major justifications for the implementation for Common Core State Standards. All sorts of reasons are pushed forward in an exempt to explain the achievement gap between all classes of students. But, seldom if ever, do the reformers discuss why the achievement gap is 25% narrower in private schools over public school. In episode 63, Professor of Education at California State University, Long Beach and a Senior Fellow at the Witherspoon Institute, Dr. William Jeynes joins me as we examine the meta-analyses and relationship between the achievement gap in education and faith, Common Core, and the future of America. (Note: this conversation was originally going to cover really just the meta-analyses data analyst, and statistical analysis of the relationship between the achievement gap between public school and faith-based private schools. But, as it turned out we spent about the first 40 minutes talking aboutCommom Core. For those who want to just listen to the analysis portion, you will want to fast forward to about the 4o minute mark.) Go to the show notes for a full bio on Dr. Jeynes.
"Not a Zero Sum Game: Freedom for Women, for the Family, and for Religion" For the good of women and the good of society, Christians must engage in a hard conversation: what does women’s freedom truly include? Known for her work in getting the voice of real women heard in the public square, Helen Alvaré will tackle the issues facing women and the family today. About Helen Alvaré Helen Alvaré is a Professor of Law at George Mason University School of Law, where she teaches Family Law, Law and Religion, and Property Law. She publishes on matters concerning marriage, parenting, non-marital households, abortion, and First Amendment religion clauses. She is a consultor for the Pontifical Council of the Laity, chair of the Task Force on Conscience Protection of the Witherspoon Institute, and cooperates with the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations as a speaker and a delegate to various United Nations conferences concerning women and the family. In addition to her publications in law reviews and other academic journals, Professor Alvaré publishes regularly in publications such as the Washington Post, the Huffington Post, the Weekly Standard, and the Washington Examiner. Professor Alvaré received her law degree from Cornell University School of Law and her master’s degree in Systematic Theology from the Catholic University of America.
Bill Bennett sorted through the Hobby Lobby case with Matt Franck of the Witherspoon Institute. National Review's Carrie Severino was in the court for the Hobby Lobby arguments. She spoke about it to Guy Benson. Michael Medved compared notes on our weak and disordered foreign policy with Ilan Berman, who recently authored “Implosion: The End of Russia—and What it Means for America:” Michael Medved turned to Florida Senator Marco Rubio to discuss the Ukraine issue. Michael Medved took a closer look at recent media coverage of the President and the Affordable Care Act. Rich Lowry from National Review joined Salem host Bill Bennett discuss the crisis of “worklessness.” Over the past 13 years, a large number of Afghan and Iraqi citizens have assisted the U.S. in its intelligence efforts—many of them as interpreters. Dennis Prager has learned that our State Department is letting the visas of many of these men expire. Upon return to their home country, they will have a target on their backs.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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