I don’t like to write about things the hierarchy does badly, for fear of adding to the scandal by drawing attention to them. It hardly seems possible any longer for Fiducia Supplicans to receive more attention than it already has, so in a small way, let me break my rule. Once. I hope.
C.S. Lewis didn’t write this as a New Year’s reflection, but it works.
The terrible thing, the almost impossible thing, is to hand over your whole self -- all
My students have just finished your book How and How Not to be Happy. They all really liked it. Several, some of them atheists, emailed me privately that the book helped them rethink their lives and values in a positive way. One told his mom to listen to it in the audio version.
Advertisements are well worth analyzing, since they make up so much of our education. Recently I passed by a billboard showing a photograph of people who had climbed ‘way up into the hills, and now, late in the day, were having a beer. The motto: “It isn't worth it unless you enjoy it.”
I’ll bet the flacks who composed the slogan never expected anyone to disagree.
Recently I came across this unintentionally revealing statement by actress Drew Barrymore. “Being with a woman,” she said, “is like exploring your own body, but through someone else".
Exactly.
In my country, lower caste Hindus feel inferior in relation to Brahmins, so that if a Brahmin were to rape the daughter of a lower caste Hindu, this would be considered a privilege. Doesn’t this cast doubt on the idea that conscience is available to all humans?