Todd A. Salzman and Michael G. Lawler are Catholic theologians revisiting a broad range of subjects about sexuality in The Sexual Person: Toward a Renewed Catholic Anthropology. The authors utilize natural law theory but tend to do so with a more personalistic and relational understanding. "On the basis of their natural law theory, they propose a renewed Catholic anthropology that serves as the basis for their positions on marital morality dealing with contraception, cohabitation, and the process of marrying, homosexuality, and artificial reproductive technologies." One particular avenue of de ..read more

In his book, The Science Delusion, Rupert Sheldrake provides a counter-narrative to the widely held claims of mainstream science by challenging those norms and the scope of its inherently stifling religiosity. He earned his Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Cambridge and eventually a fellowship to Harvard where he would study the history and philosophy of science which, incidentally, is a particular discipline which many scientists could stand to reap the benefits. The author writes with concern that science has reached a point of inertia due to its insistence on "centuries-old assu ..read more

Reading the devoutly Catholic Flannery O'Connor's short story, The Lame Shall Enter First, making its debut in Everything that Rises Must Converge is a bit like tapping into Chesterton with all of the brain-twisting subversions that seem replete within her corpus of literature. It is a masterpiece of storytelling that offers much to consider when comparing the worldviews of Christianity and modern science and what each has to offer. It is only fitting that her words should be applied to this magnificent short story: “Art never responds to the wish to make it democratic; it is not for everybody ..read more

Abortion is such a vehemently stirring topic that I dread to go near it, but I hope to provide some semblance of calm to such an intractably divisive debate. My interlocutor through this process will be Alasdair MacIntyre's Aristotelian teleology found in his celebrated watershed work, After Virtue. I do not propose to suggest that a teleological approach will be any less divisive; however, it will allow us to steer clear initially of the moral debate comprised of a modern proclivity for emotivism, namely, that all moral judgments are expressions of preference or feelings insofar as they are e ..read more

Dan Allender and Tremper Longman III have provided what should be the initial “breaking in” period pertaining to what can be such a heated discussion on the subject of sex before marriage. In God Loves Sex, the authors pair up again to examine the textual content of the Song of Songs and utilize their fictitious newcomer, Malcolm, as their trusted interlocutor who is learning about sex from a Biblical perspective...or, at least, from the Song of Songs. This material would make a great Bible study to provide the much-needed engagement from new seekers and long-established believers. From this ..read more

One of Alasdair MacIntyre’s essential contributions to the research of virtue theory can be found in his windfall work, After Virtue. Here, he makes a laudable appeal to Jane Austen’s work as one who conferred her own demonstration of the importance of seeking the good with morality onto the literary world. In particular, Pride and Prejudice stands tall as a pedagogue in moral formation that we could all learn from in contributing to this much-neglected process which only stands to make our lives better and not worse ..read more

Relationships are difficult. At least for some, they can be very difficult. But the question is, why? It would appear that there is a particular phenomenon to the selection process that has an unconscious dynamism pulling couples towards each other. This is the thesis behind Ross Rosenberg's book, The Human Magnet Syndrome: The Codependent Narcissist Trap. The term "codependent" emerged largely in part due to the discovery of partners who enabled their alcoholic counterparts; however, the twisted fabric of this relationship still extends towards those who may not have an issue with addiction ..read more

The 2014 release of God's Not Dead was followed up by a viewing...six years later. I was in no hurry to watch a film that I rightfully place in the Cheesy Christian Movie category. I would have been happy to have been wrong, but my predictions did not disappoint. After I was done watching it, all I could think about was, "This is what's wrong with Christianity." Despite worldwide box office sales reaching upwards of sixty-three million dollars, one might assume this to be a barometer of success, but it is a far cry from it. It only underscores the cultural problems deeply resident in Western C ..read more

There is no doubt that the subject of abortion is a most contentious debate that tends to frame the struggle largely within the confines of a woman's right to choose. Although "rights" are a common notion steeped in modernity, a MacIntyrean examination would regard them as mere fiction set against the backdrop of a Nietzschean Will to Power. Occluded from view is a telic rendering of this problem due to the highly prized rugged individualism of modernity which omits dependence as a valuable asset in favor of an illusory autonomy that tears down relationships. Two films specifically examine the ..read more

You Lost Me is the work of David Kinnaman, president of the well-established nonpartisan research aggregate, the Barna Group. He examines the lives of young evangelicals, particularly those ages 18 to 29, in an attempt to understand why so many are leaving the church and rethinking their faith. While few Christians will admit that sex is a factor in their decision-making to leave the church, they will contend that the church is repressive in its views towards sex ..read more