Dissertation topic

Several HancAquam book benefactors have asked about the topic of my doctoral dissertation.   They want to know what sort of academic work they are helping to fund!

My license thesis took on the problematic relationship between science and religion, arguing that a critical realist epistemology and a healthy dose of humility when making truth-claims on both sides represents the best way for the two ancient contestants to make peace.  I used the work of physicist-priest, John Polkinghorne, as my principle inspiration for this argument.

My dissertation topic will leave philosophy of science behind and take up the recently revived question of religious skepticism and divine hiddenness.  The question being asked:  if God wants us to believe that He exists, why doesn't He reveal Himself in such a way that disbelief would be unreasonable and culpable?  IOW, as it stands, our knowledge of God allows disbelief to be seen as reasonable and inculpable, both logical and blameless. 

I hope to focus on the philosophical implications of divine revelation, paying particular attention to how a Christian understanding of divine love entails that God remain hidden in order to honor human freedom.  Unfortunately, most of the work done on this question has been done by Anglo-American analytical philosophers, i.e. not Thomists or continental philosophers.

This wiki entry provides an excellent overview of the issues and lots of external links to primary and secondary sources.

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A journalistic series to follow:  how the academy is used to push leftist propaganda using tax-payer money.

Not just torture but experimental torture. . .If these allegations are true, then heads need to roll!

I recently saw the movie, Unthinkable.  An American military expert in nuclear arms has converted to Islam and used his expertise to plant several nuclear bombs all over the country.  The dramatic tension of the movie revolves around a race between an FBI agent and an outlawed Army interrogator to persuade the terrorist to disclose the location of the bombs.  The agent uses humane techniques.  The interrogator tortures.  The movie does a good job of laying out the moral dilemmas of torture in the often-cited "ticking bomb" scenario used by proponents of torture.

Chinese Computer Geeks Riot!  Inmates at an internet addiction camp stage a coup.

Dealing with binge drinking among college students.  Yes, we need to lower the legal drinking age to 18.  History tells us that prohibitionist solutions tend to make problems worse.

Excuse Maker-in-Chief tells grads not to make excuses. . .a linked list of his excuses included.

Is abortion a form of demon sacrifice?  In a manner of speaking, yes, it is.

Deconstructing the iPhone:  a Heideggerian analysis

Graphic representations of information. . .using beautiful designs to convey complex info.

Great quotes about writing from writers.  My fav:  "Everywhere I go I'm asked if I think the university stifles writers. My opinion is that they don't stifle enough of them."  --Flannery O'Connor

The infamous Robotic Facial Hair defeater in all arguments.  Use with caution.  Assembly required.

An ad for a poker magazine:  can you pull off this bluff?  I don't think so.

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Altar girls: permissible but not prudent

That the Holy Father has given permission for the use of altar girls tells us that the practice cannot be illegal or sacramentally invalidating. 

The question is whether or not it is prudent to ask girls to serve. Given what we know about 1) the reluctance of boys to take on roles that girls are encouraged to take; 2) how altar service leads to priestly vocations; and 3) the feminist agenda behind how altar girls came out--it seems to me that it is not prudent to invite young girls to serve in a parish setting.

Whether we like it or not, young boys do not rush to take on roles that girls are encouraged to take.  If 40 years of feminist indoctrination pushing the idea that equality means sameness hasn't convinced 10 y.o. boys that girls' role aren't icky, then I don't know what will convince them.  There is almost nothing more important to a 10 y.o. boy than to be seen as "not a girl."  We can argue ourselves into the dirt about how wrong this is, but we might as well stand outside at dawn and argue with the sun that it ought to be rising in the west!

There is ample evidence that altar service often leads to priestly vocations.  Since priests are indispensable to the ministry of the Church, we can't set aside the practice of all-male altar service simply b/c boys ought to know better.  

Those who pushed hardest for female servers in the 70's and 80's did so out of a philosophical and political agenda alien to the Church's understanding of the essential differences btw men and women.  The most damaging element of this agenda is the idea that ministers are merely functional; that is, there is nothing more to ministerial service than performing a function during a sacred service.  If a girl can "do the job," let her do it.  This notion is fine for all secular jobs, but ministerial service is not merely functional; it is also sacramental.  The early proponents of female servers often claimed that their stand was "prophetic" and would help Catholics "get used" to the idea of women on the altar when the Church finally got around to ordaining women as priests.  This exact argument was made in the Episcopal Church--that opposition to female priests was rooted in an aesthetic discomfort--and look at what's happened to that venerable institution.

So, girls serving the altar is permissible but probably not prudent, especially in a parish setting.

As I noted in an earlier post, I have asked women to serve Mass at the University of Dallas.  This came about primarily b/c none of the men I asked would serve.  There were several reasons the guys gave for not serving, but the most prominent was, "Sorry, Father, but I haven't been to confession."  This same reason was often given by both men and women when asked to serve as EMHC.  At one point in my last semester at U.D. I started postponing the start of Mass until I had all the help I needed.  I had to do this four or five times--postponing the start of Mass up to 20 mins!--before my message got through. 

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The Rainbow Bishop

The Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church recently sent a pastoral letter to her people defending TEC's radical innovations to the catholic faith.  GetReligion has the story, along with some questions that the media haven't asked.


If you are interested in the complex ecclesial issues behind this letter (and that hideous cope), check out Chris Johnson's take.

Coffee Bowl Browsing

Americans aren't buying the anti-Israeli/pro-Hamas spin of the MSM's coverage of the flotilla fracas.  Good on them.

Lots of pics and reports on the recent Stop the Mosque at Ground Zero rally. I'm not entirely sure what I think about this issue.  Not all Muslims are terrorists.  Nothing--that I know of--requires Muslims to be violent in the propagation of their faith.  But I can certainly understand why the families of 9/11 victims would be peeved.

Is there a "pedator-priest" problem in the Catholic Church? No.

Is being anti-Catholic essential to being English?  I hope not!  If I forced to renounce my American citizenship, I would immediately apply to become a subject of Her Majesty, the Queen.  My third choice?  Refugee status in the Vatican City State.

As a reasonably educated person with a deeply held sense of fairness, I realize that Wal-Mart is not always good for the local businesses it usurps.  However, as a Partisan Redneck with limited funds, I say, "Leave Wal-Mart alone!"

Fr. Z. tackles the thorny issue of female altar servers at a celebration of the Extraordinary Form of the Mass.  I've never celebrated the E.F.--probably never will--so I don't have a dog in this fight.  If I were a parish priest, I would not allow female altar servers for all the reasons normally given for this exclusion.  However, as a university chaplain, I frequently asked young women to serve.  The difference?  Boys are put off serving when girls are allowed to serve.  I hope this isn't a problem for college-aged men.  And I wish it weren't a problem for the boys!

Q:  do the Palestinians of the Gaza Strip need humanitarian aid?  A:  Not if infant morality rates are any indication of humanitarian need.

B.O.'s failure to promote an essential American value:  religious freedom.

The inevitability of a persecuted Catholic Church. . ."the gates of hell shall not prevail. . ."

Gangster hermeneutics:  Robert Frost as Poetic Thug 

On lying to children about the culinary habits of rhinos.

40 sayings from Nietzsche that promise to rock your world.

You know you wanna hear this guy's story!

Are you a psycho-killer?  Take the test!

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Chevron 10 encoded!

You have to be three different kinds of Nerds to get this. . .

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Continuing fallout from the anti-Semitic rantings of the Left's favorite "journalist."  Imagine, if you will, Rush/Beck/Hannity/etc. declaring on national TV:  "Blacks back to Africa!  Out of the US!"  

Her co-author quits.  High school cancels her graduation appearance.  Heh.  Apparently, the only people who aren't offended by her naked racism are her fellow-lefty travelers in the MSM.

Papal visit to the U.K. is in a "state of chaos"?  What's going on up there?  If I were the suspicious type I'd say someone in the Church up there wants to keep the Holy Father's away from his people.

Different Franciscans, different habits:  what do the differences mean?  A venerable OP friar told me once that OP's wear the capuce (the "hoodie") as a sign of perpetual permission to leave the convent in order to preach.  By contrast, a monk would wear the capuce as a sign that he had permission to be out of the monastery.

Our post-American Commander-in-Chief skips out on D-Day celebrations to attend his second party this week.  Can Nov. 2012 come fast enough?  Are Dems sabotaging The Won?  Naw.  He's doing well enough on his own.

And in other democratic news. . .I mean Democrat News. . .they really don't want to give their employers another chance to yell at them if it means their butt-chewing will end up on Youtube.

"W" is still a powerhouse!  Two years out of the White House and he can cause radical Islamic terrorists to beat up Israeli troops and make those troops kill civilians.  Wow.  If I had that kinda power, I could pass the French exam!

The Church of England continues its suicidal slide into total evangelical irrelevance.   What's next?  Muslim bishops? 

This chipmunk does NOT need acting classes.

Math nerd pie. . .yes, even math nerds need the occasional pastry-fix.

Statistical proof that you are less likely to be killed in the Iraqi War Theater than you are in D.C.

Signs for our (illiterate) times. . .

The best kind of sarcasm?  Zen sarcasm!

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23rd of 25! Could be better, could be worse. . .

Eric Sammons at The Divine Life has tallied the top 25 most subscribed-to Catholic blogs on Google Reader. The results:

(1) What Does the Prayer Really Say?: 4841
(2) Whispers in the Loggia: 4685
(3) Charlotte Was Both: 3053
(4) Conversion Diary: 1817
(5) New Advent Blog: 1429
(6) Creative Minority Report: 1248
(7) Patrick Madrid: 1173
(8) Standing on my Head: 1156
(9) The Hermeneutic of Continuity: 1053
(10) Damian Thompson: 954
(11) Rorate Caeli: 933
(12) The New Liturgical Movement: 892
(13) Ask Sister Mary Martha: 867
(14) Mere Comments: 811
(15) Catholic and Enjoying It!: 796
(16) Ignatius Insight Scoop: 749
(17) By Sun and Candlelight: 712
(18) Catholic Cuisine: 648
(19) The Shrine of the Holy Whapping: 643
(20) Testosterhome: 638
(21) Happy Catholic: 607
(22) The Crescat: 573
(23) Domine, da mihi hanc aquam!: 521
(24) Shower of Roses: 481
(25) Wildflowers and Marbles: 474

See the list of the Top 200 Most Popular Catholic Blogs over at my main website.


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Two more pics

For Moniales. . .per a request!

Fr. Alfred Wilder, Thomist philosopher-theologian of the Southern Dominican Province.  Fr. Wilder presided at the conventual Mass this morning for the last time in his 37 year teaching career here at the Angelicum.  He is headed back to the U.S. this summer.

Santa Croce. . .

Unexpected discovery:  the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, a.k.a. Opus Dei U.

Helpful signs for Santa Croce students. . .

A quick guide to the local fauna.

Advertising Opus Dei style!

At the Campo

A wide selection of coral jewelry available at the Campo.

Arciconfraternita S. Maria Dell'Orazione E Morte, (Confraternity of St Mary of the Oration and the Dead)Indirizzo:

A stone etching on the outside of the church above, a place to put donations for candles for the dead.





















Another etching with a slot for donations.

On to Campo de Fiori!

Fr. Benedict appears to be in a subjunctive mood for our outing.

The Largo Argentina. . .part of the ruins of Pompey's grand theater and market complex. 

Foundation of one of the temples in the Largo Argentina ruins. 

Church of St Barbara. . .this is supposed to be the site where the Senators murdered Julius Caesar on the steps of Pompey's new Senate House.

Market day at the Campo de Fiori.  This is where you wanna be if you like to cook with fresh ingredients.

The campo's notorious ex-Dominican friar and heretic, Giordano Bruno.

Coffee Bowl Browsing

Israelis are damned by the Left. . .no matter what they do.  So, they should ignore the predictable whining and moral equivocating and protect themselves. 

Why is planning for the pope's trip to the U.K. in Sept in such a mess?  Could it be that the "Spirit of Vatican Two Peace Bong Hipsters" the bishops' conference has running the show would rather the Ole Geezer just stay in Rome?

Oops. . .Elena Kagan's paper trail is exposing her to be anything but the Judicial Blank Slate B.O. is presenting her to be. 

Is it legal to videotape police officers while they are doing their job?  Yes, it is.  Just don't let your film making interfere with an arrest.  I think good cops would welcome the scrutiny b/c it helps them keep their depts. clean.

Climate Science's Bad Rep:  ". . .climate science is facing reputational meltdown similar to the Roman Catholic church's over allegations of child abuse and the British parliament's following the scandal over MPs' expenses."  Sorry.  Not buying the comparisons.  First, Catholics have always freely confessed that we are limited beings constantly struggling with sin and failure.  Second,  everyone expects politicians to be money-grubbing ego-maniacs.  However, Global Warming Cultists have been anything but humble in their preaching and unexpectedly greedy for tax dollars. 

Ten Strange Texts

More Legal Firearms = Less Violent Crime. . .so says the FBI. 

Unpacking and debunking some of the persistent myths dramatized in the new film, Agora.   I've seen the movie and it is exactly what we've come to expect from contemporary pagan portrayals of Christians in history.  Christians are anti-intellectual, anti-art/music, anti-science, anti-female, blahblahblah. 

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More Turista pics (links added)

Duh?  I think you know this one.

Constantin's Arch right next to the Coliseum.

The Capitoline Museums

Church & State: The V.E.M. and Basilica di Santa Maria in Ara coeli

Il Turista (links added)

I played tourist today. . .here are just a few of the pics I took:

Down the Salita del Grillo toward the via Cavour.  The wall on the right is one of the walls of Trajan's Market.

Vespasian's Forum of Peace.  They still use the inside of this structure for concerts.  To the right of this structure is the Basilica of Cosmas and Damian.

Guess. . .?

Part of the Old Roman Forum

Statue at the Capitoline Museums.

Trajan's Column with St Peter on top

Fishy Background

Who's that fishy in the window. . .of your laptop? One of the sample pics that came with the Window's OS.

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Yet more pics

Proof that I can clean my desk!

(NB.  This pic has been up for almost 12 hrs and I've not rec'd one appreciative comment from Scuba Becky, MightyMom, or my Lovely English Lady Friend!  What's a friar gotta do?  Mop the floor?!!)

University building for deans' offices and classrooms. 

Two Angelicum students heading off to take exams. . .

A few more pics

The Priory Chapel at the Angelicum

Pics from Angelicum's Eucharistic Adoration

Inside SS. Domenico e Sisto for Adoration after the 2010 annual Eucharistic Procession.

Nuns enough for ya?  Adoration after the Procession.

(Pic credit:  Fr. Benedict Croell, OP)

More Rome pics

 The Angelicum's courtyard. . .the trees on the right are orange trees.

The Angelicum's backyard. . .which is really an orchard:  orange, lemon, apple, pear, etc.