Category Archives: Faith and Reason
Faith and Reason
The mysteries of our holy Faith are beyond reason, but they are not unreasonable. They can be defended, not proven, by arguments based on reason. Even the holy sacrifice of the Mass, which is so sublime a mystery, is called a “reasonable” sacrifice in the Roman liturgy. It is in this sense that philosophy is called “the handmaid of theology.” Terms such as “principle,” “matter,” “form,” “substance,” “accident,” “transubstantiation,” are a few of those which theology makes use of to defend the reasonableness of the mysteries of our Faith.
When we employ arguments from reason to defend our religion we are engaging in the work of apologetics. In its ancient usage the Greek word apologetikos meant both “apology” and “defense.” Some of the early fathers of the Church wrote “apologia” in arguing with pagans in defense of Christianity. Polemics, on the other hand, is the art of arguing from holy scripture and tradition to defend the Faith.
This section of our site covers quite a broad spectrum of topics that all fall under Faith and reason. But it mostly explores where Faith and reason meet, especially in today’s context: burning moral questions of the day, scientific inquiry, and other fronts where both divine revelation and human philosophy stake their claims.
Mystery, Obama’s Brain Research Project (and the Pope)
One supposes it may be seen as in questionable taste to cite one’s own work, but that is what I am about to do here. I hope the reader will indulge me. I’m not simply plugging a book. There is a point. Young Tony and the Priest; Coming to Belief in an Age of Unbelief, a novella by me published by Loreto Publications, is a … More →
Sophists Running the Academy
You’ve no doubt heard the expressing “lunatics running the asylum.” Well, The Telegraph reports that a new article, published in the Journal of Medical Ethics, says newborn babies are not “actual persons” and do not have a “moral right to life”. The academics also argue that parents should be able to have their baby killed if it turns out to be disabled when it is born. … More →
What Have We to Offer?
A month ago this website posted some lines by me in which I lamented that the state of formerly Christian society was fallen so low that probably no more than a half-dozen Americans cared that the Christian interest would not be served by whichever of the two principal candidates for President won in the November election. I could as easily have written of the outcome … More →
New York Times Contracepts Science
Donna Harrison, M.D., is an obstetrician-gynecologist in southwestern Michigan and director of research and public policy for the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists. She wrote a rebuttal to a recent article in The New York Times. (National Review Online) The recent New York Times article by Pam Belluck, asserting that so-called abortifacient drugs may not be abortive at all, is a wonderful example … More →
NASA Allegedly Has Mission Specialist Demoted for Defending Intelligent Design
Intelligent Design!!! You can’t say that, Sir. You’re a scientist. We are radical secularists here. You’re not supposed to talk about First Causes in our workplace. Stick to your field of secondary causation and say no more, even if the subject of a First Cause comes up in your presence. You are paid to be a stupid materialist; so be stupid, leave your mind at … More →
Posted in Columns, Faith and Reason 1 Comment
Fulton Sheen’s ‘A Plea for Intolerance’
This article recently came to Catholicism.org’s attention. These excerpts came from the Alliance for Life Ministries site. Ven. Emmanuel d’Alzon had similar ideas. America, it is said, is suffering from intolerance — it is not. It is suffering from tolerance. Tolerance of right and wrong, truth and error, virtue and evil, Christ and chaos. Our country is not nearly so overrun with the bigoted as … More →
Mathematics and Christian Education
Nothing could be more distinctive of the age in which we live than the overpowering prominence of mathematics. All through the Catholic centuries, arithmetic and geometry constituted all the mathematics that an educated Christian was asked to learn. Even these two subjects were treated from a more contemplative point of view, which made them far more harmonious with other liberal studies. Arithmetic consisted in the … More →
Posted in Articles, Faith and Reason 6 Comments
Conversion Story: Good Thinking Leads Young Atheist to Embrace the True Faith
I noticed that this “reversion” story was written by a man that had the same surname as me, only spelled out in Gaelic, so it caught my curiosity. Every conversion story is unique and this one is a real gem in God’s heavenly New Jerusalem. May Maolsheachlann O Ceallaigh persevere in the holy Faith unto death and win many others to the truth. Maolsheachlann O … More →
A Sermon against Evolution
[This is an actual sermon, by an actual priest. He graciously allowed us to publish it on our web site. Please keep in mind that it was written to be communicated orally, not in print. The standards of citation reflect that. The priest who gave the sermon is especially indebted to Fr. Philip Wolfe, FSSP1] By the authority invested in my own mind, I am … More →
Europe is Going Crazy
When I read “studies show…” or “a recent study has indicated that…” I admit to having a healthy dose of skepticism. Depending on who does the “studying,” the conclusions of such a scientific pursuit could be worthless or even harmful. Of course, they could also reveal something true. So, my fellow skeptics, take it with as large a grain of salt as you like, but: … More →
Michele Bachmann and the Curse of Pluralism
It appears that a clever, attention-seeking member of the fourth estate has seized on a deep, dark secret about a Republican contender for our nation’s highest office: Michele Bachmann’s Church Says the Pope Is the Antichrist. Michele Bachmann is a Protestant, and once belonged to a particular Lutheran affiliation, the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, that says such things.
Men of Faith, Men of Science and Medicine, Catholic Pioneers / Atlantis?
June 13 was the birthday of Jerome Lejeune (1926-1995), devout Catholic and geneticist who discovered the cause of Down Syndrome. On her blog yesterday, Rebecca Taylor posted her father’s recollections of the time he spent with Dr. Lejeune in 1978, and they were quite a tribute to this dedicated and brilliant man. You can read the tribute here.
Posted in Catholic Living, Columns, Faith and Reason, News 3 Comments
