The blog renaissance

C.S. Lewis identifies the development of “the machine” as the most drastic change in both technology and philosophy in all of history (he pinpoints the machine age as generally beginning around the time of the Industrial Revolution). Continue Reading...

Museum of plastic cadavers

Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry is currently hosting the Body Worlds show, a display of plasticized cadavers and body parts. According to museum publicity, some 16 million people worldwide have seen the show, the creation of Gunther von Hagens, a German inventor who claims to have created the “plastination” technique. Continue Reading...

Update on Laura Ingraham

As was noted in an earlier post, talk-radio host and friend of the Acton Institute Laura Ingraham was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. Her website is now reporting some promising news following her most recent surgery: This afternoon, Laura went back into surgery for a further “cleaning of the margins” around the original breast tumor. Continue Reading...

Two philosophers

On this date, in 1813, Danish philosopher and Christian Søren Kierkegaard was born. Five years later, on this date in 1818, German philosopher and atheist Karl Marx was born. For a rough sketch of where these men fit in the history of philosophy, see this “Flow Chart of Modern Philosophy After Kant.” Continue Reading...

Acton and Kuyper on politics

"In the French revolution a civil liberty for every Christian to agree with the unbelieving majority; in Calvinism, a liberty of conscience, which enables every man to serve God according to his own conviction and the dictates of his own heart." Continue Reading...

Catholics and Orthodox together?

Bishop Hilarion of Vienna and Austria, who is head of the Representation of the Russian Orthodox Church to the European Institutions, has offered some very encouraging words on the prospect for improving relations between the Roman Catholic and Russian Orthodox churches — a relationship that must be revisited with a sense of urgency. Continue Reading...

‘The least natural of loves’

C.S. Lewis calls “Friendship” the “least natural of loves; the least instinctive, organic, biological, gregarious and necessary.” Head on over to Mere Comments to see my response to “Walking With Friendships.” Continue Reading...

Saul Bellow’s Henderson the Rain King

Saul Bellow died last week at the age of 89. He wrote the novel that was most influential and deeply important in my life, Henderson the Rain King. In this book, Bellow engages the hollow atheism at the heart of the modern secular world. Continue Reading...

Faith in government

There’s a provocative post from Bryan Caplan over at EconLog about “the odd factoid that faith in government dramatically increased after 9/11.” Continue Reading...