Musings of a Christian Humanist

     He was among the brightest students I have taught. We had just finished talking about how and why Freudian or Marxists interpretations of reality are suffocating in their reductionistic interpretations. The conversation moved to the writings of Christopher Dawson that are happily being reprinted by Catholic University Press of America. As our discussion meandered, he questioned, "why are Freudian and Marxist ideologies reductionistic, but Dawson's assertion that 'religion is the key to history' not reductionistic?" Bravo, I thought, a marvelous question. Now we were onto a grand quest. My first response was that, religion, as understood by Dawson is not a mere accident of human nature, but an essential characteristic or quality of the human condition that manifests itself throughout culture. Additionally, human cultures as envisioned and developed by various people through history act back upon and shape our religious impulse.   ...

    In literary terms, Gothic typically refers to that frame of mind and soul that embraces the strange, the mysterious, and the irrational, specifically terror. Gothic novels are often set in the dark and wild. This is what one encounters in Andrew Klavan's most recent novel.     As I consider this novel written for a popular audience, there are no empty cliches for Klavan. Nightmare City is a pulse pounding, page turning, plot twisting engaging work that will be enjoyed by all who love a rich suspenseful novel. This is not a mere bump-in-the-night, goose bump, chills producing novel; rather Nightmare City has the capacity to move the soul toward reflection. The reality of death and evil are all around us and even within us. While there is the true, the good, and the beautiful  received with joy, sometimes the true and good are met in the dark. Ignoring evil does not make it vanish. In addition to our contemporary culture being take...

     I have never acted to conceal the truth that I am a Trekkie. Additionally, I have never hidden my conviction that I am a traditionalist and a conservative in the way defined by Russell Kirk. While there are thematic and ideological elements worthy of criticism in the Star Trek worldview, there is much that can be redeemed. On the 60th anniversary of Russell Kirk's magnum opus, The Conservative Mind , it is certainly worth the time and energy to revisit this essential reading. My reexamination of the key points in this most important work has been shaped recently, in part, by my rethinking of how much some of our current political, cultural, and social moment is reminiscent of the Borg.      While there is much for mind and soul in this volume, I would like to rethink the essence of conservatism, as discovered by Russell Kirk, and contrast it with collectivism and consumerism as an antidote to these contemporary toxins.  No dou...

" And if we should know what government is, we should observe, in Thucydides' laconic account of the revolution at Corcyra, what happens when it fails. " Stringfellow  Barr      Most keen observers would say that our government has been in failure mode for a number of decades, and this is not easily refuted on empirical grounds. Readers of the Great Books might suggest we begin not with Thucydides, but with Plato and Aristotle. One should not quibble over such matters. Instead, go now, and get a copy of Thucydides' The History of the Peloponnesian Wars . Turn and read book III, chapter X. The only immediate background needed is this: The time and place of the revolution is at Corcyra in the fifth year of the Peloponnesian War. We find ourselves in a trial of sorts.      Thucydides describes a world where words have little to no meaning. With the collapse of communication, so comes the collapse of community. The spiral from orde...

Note to reader: In addition to working very closely with Dr. Desiderius for years, I did and still do count him as the dearest of friends. We are open and direct with each other, as this interview will show. He left the academy a few years ago because, in his words, there was no longer a point to teaching. I also interview him about fifteen years ago, and sadly he has become "more jaded" (his words, not mine). This interview is equal parts, cautionary tale, reflection on the wonders and purpose of the liberal arts, and the deep sadness of a spurned lover. I can attest that there was a time when Professor Desiderius was passionate about humane learning. Robert Woods: It is always a joy to converse with you and I appreciate your time, as I know you are busy. Michael Desiderius: I use to be busy, when I was teaching, now I finally know leisure. RW: Well, I thought we would have a few moments before you took a dig at the university. MD: I'm sorry. Let me begin again....

The incarnation calls us to the things of this world. So when we consider the following quotes about the liberal arts we must begin and end there: What has Athens to do with Jerusalem?   - Tertullian “What has Ingeld to do with Christ”? -Alcuin (when catching some monks reading Beowulf) What has Horace to do with the Psalter? Or Virgil with the Gospel? Or Cicero the Apostle? - Jerome        Just as the Logos, God Himself, became flesh, and just as God’s words and wisdom were penned by human hands in particular times and places, Christians, as embodied beings, are called to be in the world. We are called to a healthy, robust terrestriality, without compromising our calling. Engagement with the world–in all of its God–imbued glory intertwined with human wretchedness–requires wisdom from God, a wisdom that assists us to be faithful.  Just as the incarnation was ultimately about redemption, it is the task of the...

Secularism and its offspring tolerance is selective in both its secularization and toleration. Christianity is the specific target for many. Not one jot or title will remain if some have their way. They leave no stone unturned in their effort to overthrow. One professor of Medieval history who declared to his class that he refused to even mention Thomas Aquinas becuase he was too Christian. So the class was exposed to all the efforst to dimantel Thomas withoout ever reading Thomas.

      For years, I would begin my Introduction to Humanities course by trying to clear up some muddled ideas about the term Humanities. Of course, most of my students did not get the weightiness of the lecture. For them, Introduction to Humanities was merely a course in the core that was an academic requirement. In a most impassioned manner, the goal was to get the students to apprehend that the humanities was not really a discipline or set of disciplines, but a way of knowing. When fully embraced, the humanities could be a way of living and being. To provide a reference point of historical import, they would hear me implore, that "the humanities" more so than anything else they would experience at the university, would assist them in the plight to "know thyself," and if embraced as a way of knowing and understanding, would assist in the great good of seeking and obtaining wisdom.     Mortimer Adler, in A Guidebook to Learning powerfully...

Of course we all recognize that look. Sometimes it is comical. You are in a gathering of some sort and you look at another who has that droopy eyed What is intellectual somnolence Causes Cures Hope for recovery

     Studying and leading conversations on the Great Books for more than twenty years still produces that sense of awe and wonder, especially when I discover a new tool to aide in the exploration of wisdom.  Unfortunately, this excitement is often curtailed when I engage many of those within the academy. Once, an educationist from our Education Department, with arms folded humphed at me the term "perennialist" which he meant pejoratively, but which I heard as praise. More than once, I have seen the term "quaint" applied to what we do in our Great Books based programs. Of course, the secularists and dehumanized masses deem these writings down right dangerous. It is the notion of being quaint that I seek to ponder for a bit.      The term quaint, like perennialist, traditional, and related terms are often uttered with contempt today, but these terms have meaning that call for reconsideration. While quaint can be used in a dismissive manner, quaint ca...

     Reading wisdom literature in any age is wise. Reading wise sayings in a foolish age will mark one quickly as a contrarian, but being wise where folly is as pervasive as oxygen is essential for survival. Of all the gifts that Desiderius Erasmus passed on to western civilization, his collection of adages, useful sayings, ranks among his least known, but most esteemed in his day. While not all adages are wise sayings, there is much wisdom in his labor. Even in Erasmus's day, Niccolo Sagundino, wrote about them, "I can hardly say what a sweet nectar as honey I sip from your delightful Adages, rich source of nectar as they are. What lovely flowers of every mind I gather thence like a honey-bee.... to their perusal I have devoted two hours a day."      The Adages can be enjoyed along with Erasmus's Praise of Folly and Colloquies . The work demonstrates the unique genius of this prince of the Christian humanists. It demonstrates his scholarship and i...