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God, Notre Dame, Country
Unorthodoxy
By Patrick J. Deneen
This past weekend I had the pleasure and privilege of attending a conference at the University of Notre Dame entitled "The Summons of Freedom." The conference was sponsored by The Center for Ethics and Culture, an interdisciplinary program founded and directed by Professor David Solomon of Notre Dame's Department of Philosophy. It was the 10th annual conference held by the Center, though the first I attended. Based on what I saw, heard, and experienced, it will not be my last. If there is to be not only a defense of he full dimension of Catholicism in America, but a revival of it, I believe it will emanate from the work being done by this Center.
The Center for Ethics and Culture is deeply informed by the encyclicals and teachings of Pope John Paul II and, now, Benedict XVI. As the statement of Vision on the Center's website relates, "the Notre Dame Center for Ethics and Culture aims to transform the culture in which we live into one where the dignity of human life is respected, the compatibility of faith and reason is recognized, and the connection between the truth and genuine freedom is understood."
The Center's main intellectual influences are pairs from the early Church, the papacy, and contemporary philosophy: Augustine and Thomas Aquinas; Pope John Paul II and Benedict XVI (with attention as well to Pope Leo XIII, who is largely responsible for the revival of Thomism in modern times); and the Notre Dame philosophers Ralph McInerny and, above all, Alasdair MacIntyre. MacIntyre is philosopher-in-residence at the Center, and looms large in the discussions and guiding vision of the Center's work.
This weekend's conference attracted several hundred similarly inspired academics from across the nation and the globe for discussions of the conference's themes, "virtue, sacrifice and the common good." It is fair and accurate to say that the Center and conference participants are "traditionalist," and that - in matters of the "culture wars" - their work has been on the side of defending life, calling attention to the utilitarian philosophy that underlies many assumptions of the extension of modern biotechnology, and defending forms of traditional morality. The Center was in the middle of efforts to reverse the decision of Notre Dame to award President Obama an honorary degree, and helped organize "ND Response," which sponsored a protest rally coincident with the President's commencement address.
That said (and doubtless these positions will cause various readers to inundate this post with scurrilous comments), there is further dimension of the Center - prominently present at the conference - that defies most contemporary notions of Left and Right. The Conference featured several panels that argued on behalf of a way of thinking about the economic life that might strike the casual observer as coming from the Left. Among the strong defenses of the central place of morality in human affairs was an insistence that an exacting moral code extend as much to the marketplace as the bedroom. Indeed, there was an overarching insistence - one informed by Alasdair MacIntyre, a former Marxist - that there is a continuity between the individualism and relativism of the market and "personal" lifestyles, a consistent relativism that erodes social cohesion, cultural continuity, a felt sense of generational obligation, and a the centrality of the virtue of self-governance and moderation of appetite.
Among the panels that were organized were sympathetic explorations of the thoughts of Wendell Berry, whose writings of several decades have severely condemned contemporary form of "absentee economy" populated by "itinerant vandals." These words were penned long before the current economic crisis, a crisis that he has essentially predicted based on a view of human anthropology and nature that cannot long be denied without severe repercussions. There was also a panel consisting of authors from the webzine "Front Porch Republic," a generally conservative online journal that has been strongly critical of the neo-liberal economic orthodoxy (full disclosure: I appeared on the panel, and write for the site). Among its stable of authors are those arguing for a second look at the "Distributism" of Chesterton and Belloc and more local forms of economic organization.
In my view, the highlight of the conference was a lecture delivered by Michael Baxter entitled "God, Notre Dame and Country." Baxter reviewed the mid-20th Century efforts of Catholic intellectuals to formulate a seamless synthesis of Catholic belief and American values - for instance, a work such as We Hold These Truths by the Jesuit intellectual John Courtney Murray. While Baxter sympathetically explored the felt-need of the oft-ghettoized Catholic minority in America to gain acceptance by the broader culture, he concluded that these efforts had gone too far, to the point of a degree of intellectual dishonesty. He argued for a more vigorous Catholic contrarian voice in the broader culture, one that is willing to call out the false premises of American liberalism (whether informing the contemporary Left or Right). He insisted that Catholicism refuse any longer to be drawn into the contemporary culture wars, lining up neatly on the Right or Left (or worse, Republican or Democrat) in complete mindless submission to the political demands of the day. He called for a more thoughtful consideration of a consistent Catholic argument that would be equally critical of both parties where they departed from the consistency of the Catholic teaching. Hence his proposed reorganization of a Notre Dame motto: not "God, Country, Notre Dame," but "God, Notre Dame, Country." That is a more properly Augustinian standard.
It was an exciting weekend and presentation, finally because in the contours of its basic premises and arguments one could see the beginnings of a revival of a truly dissenting Catholic voice in contemporary America. For too long Catholics have lined up in "conservative" or "progressive" camps in ways that have aligned too closely with the existing political parties. Those arguments have pulled the Catholic electorate to the left or right, becoming THE swing vote in national elections - but for that reason, also effectively splitting apart the consistency of the full teaching of the Church, and thereby obscuring its power and damaging its effectiveness in the broader culture.
What exists today are two parties that effectively adhere to one part of the Catholic teaching (whether they know it or not), with the Right insisting on the dignity of life in all of its forms and the Left adopting a stance of moral condemnation toward the greed and concupiscence that contributed to the economic crisis. However, the resulting divide allows each side to blame the other for their respective immorality (personal/sexual or economic), thereby obscuring the fundamental moral consistency that was bifurcated in the cauldron of Cold War American politics. The work of the Center on Culture and Ethics is clearly aimed at healing that divide, and - if its work continues to unfold with the success and vision that I witnessed - the "blame game" that has existed at the heart of American politics will be increasingly harder to play. The major players in the Parties will insist upon retaining the status quo, but the penetrating vision of this Catholic revival in the American heartland may finally be too powerful to ignore. One can at least hope.
By Patrick J. Deneen |
November 18, 2009; 10:37 AM ET
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Unorthodoxy
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Posted by: ccnl1 | November 20, 2009 1:09 PM
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accessory after the fact - a person who gives assistance or comfort to someone known to be a felon or known to be sought in connection with the commission of a felony
RACKETEERING ACTIVITY - (A) any act or threat involving …dealing in obscene matter, ……, which is chargeable under State law and punishable by imprisonment for more than one year; any act which is indictable under the following [sections] of 18, U.S.C.: …..1461-1465 (obscene matter), 1503 (obstruction of justice), 1510 (obstruction of criminal investigations), 1511 (obstruction of State or local law enforcement), 1512 (tampering with a witness, victim, or informant), 1513 (retaliating against a witness, victim, or informant), ….. 2251-2252 (sexual exploitation of children), ..|”
Posted by: coloradodog | November 20, 2009 10:53 AM
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Look at parts of ccn1's lame regurgitated apology for pervert priests:
"Some sources have asserted that most of the victims were between the ages of 16 and 17, making the sexual abuse instances of hebephilia rather than pedophilia. These sources argue that, by failing to make this distinction, the media has fostered a misconception of the problem."
So it's all a "misconception." They're not really predatory perverts, they're "hebephiles" That makes it so much better.
“Similar to this practice, some have pointed out that public school administrators engaged in a likewise manner when dealing with accused teachers[29], as did the Boy Scouts of America.[30]|”
The sniveling, adolescent cry of “others did it, too, as if “others” claimed as well to be “Christ’s Church”
You’re right, ccnl1, I do hate the clergy of the Catholic Chruch for what their perverted tradition did to me and other boys and their crimes against God and man hiding their criminal perpetrators. I can’t understand how anyone who claims to be Catholic can sit "holier than thou" judging others for abortion and/or homosexuality and then simply look the other way with submissive supplication from the Church's sexual holocaust.
Posted by: coloradodog | November 20, 2009 7:55 AM
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And the hate continues to ooze from every pore of Coloradodog's skin!!!!
And calling gay sex "mutual masturbating" is not gay bashing. Do a Google search and see that the term is hardly original nor hateful but simply the biological and physical reality of gay sex.
And once again:
For a review of the RCC's handling of the horrendous conduct by some of its priests, see:
http://www.answers.com/topic/roman-catholic-sex-abuse-cases?method=26&initiator=CANS
Posted by: CCNL | November 19, 2009 5:47 PM
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Ah, Notre Dame, the tool of politically archconservative Republican Bishops to set up The President of the United States to be taunted a "baby killer" by inviting him there to speak.
Posted by: coloradodog | November 19, 2009 1:34 PM
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ccnl1:
You can call it "hate filled" or "Catholic-bashing" or anything else you want but it won't stop me from pointing out the hypocrisy of the Catholic Church and the Pope allowing Cardinals Law, Mahoney and Rivera of Mexico to continue to hide the identity of perverts in their clergy against God and man's laws"
The Catholic Church can believe in Saints with a pair of eyeballs on a plate in front of them for all I care but they must either cough up their pedophiles for trial or shut up about trying to jam any other of their "morals" down the government's throat.
There's an elephant in the basilica and you make your same weak lame apologies for it while you yourself post and repost your own hateful gay-bashing.
Posted by: coloradodog | November 19, 2009 1:31 PM
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Hmmm, there is that "Schaum" ID again. Again, be wary of imposters as this is an anonymous blog and imposters abound.
And is said person now regurgitating posts from others like the hate-filled "coloradodog"??
For a review of the RCC's handling of the horrendous conduct by some of its priests, see:
http://www.answers.com/topic/roman-catholic-sex-abuse-cases?method=26&initiator=CANS
Posted by: CCNL | November 19, 2009 12:25 PM
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Pretending the issue of pedophile priests is a "caricature of the Church" used by Catholic-bashers is no less disingenuous and immoral than Donohue pretending molested little boys were nothing more than gold digging sex- workers the Church later paid for their "voluntary services" I never have and never would take one of the Church's stinking, blood-and-semen stained pennies minted by Satan himself for what one of your "Brothers of Christ" did to me against my will.
As long as Catholics snub their noses at civil criminal law and hide, aid and abet pedophiles among their clergy, I will continue to be their "caricature" of a "Catholic-basher." Have you no shame or guilt for using Jesus' name to hide those who get their crude sexual jollies using and throwing away children as if it were one of their special-dispensation rights God gave to your clergy as the "Pope's Ambassadors"? How could anyone pretend they belong to "Christ's Church" and continue to look the other way?
Round up and arrest the pedophiles you are hiding in your clergy now. Until you do, you are nothing more than immoral hypocrite disciples of the Devil himself and until then may all you rot in the imaginary hell you created to control and manipulate others.
Posted by: coloradodog | November 19, 2009 9:16 AM
Posted by: Schaum | November 19, 2009 10:50 AM
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Hmmm, Notre Dame??
Liberal beyond the liberal when it comes to Catholoic theology. e.g. Faculty member, Father Richard P. McBrien as one of the great advocates for having married priests, male and female.
Of course, Mr. Deneen could simply read the following to get a real feel for the Catholic "Unorthodoxy", contemporary style:
Jesus was an illiterate Jewish peasant/carpenter/simple preacher man who suffered from hallucinations and who has been characterized anywhere from the Messiah from Nazareth to a mythical character from mythical Nazareth to a mamzer from Nazareth (Professor Bruce Chilton, in his book Rabbi Jesus). Analyses of Jesus’ life by many contemporary NT scholars (e.g. Professors Crossan, Borg and Fredriksen, On Faith panelists) via the NT and related documents have concluded that only about 30% of Jesus' sayings and ways noted in the NT were authentic. The rest being embellishments (e.g. miracles)/hallucinations made/had by the NT authors to impress various Christian, Jewish and Pagan sects.
The 30% of the NT that is "authentic Jesus" like everything in life was borrowed/plagiarized and/or improved from those who came before. In Jesus' case, it was the ways and sayings of the Babylonians, Greeks, Persians, Egyptians, Hittites, Canaanites, OT, John the Baptizer and possibly the ways and sayings of traveling Greek Cynics.
http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/theories.html
For added "pizzazz", Catholic/Christian theologians divided god the singularity into three persons and invented atonement as an added guilt trip for the "pew people" to go along with this trinity of overseers. By doing so, they made god the padre into god the "filicider".
Current crises:
Pedophiliac priests, atonement theology and original sin!!!!
Posted by: CCNL | November 18, 2009 3:17 PM
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The comments to this entry are closed.
Hmmm, looking the other way are we, so says the hate-filled Coloradodog:
The other way:
Jesus was an illiterate Jewish peasant/carpenter/simple preacher man who suffered from hallucinations and who has been characterized anywhere from the Messiah from Nazareth to a mythical character from mythical Nazareth to a mamzer from Nazareth (Professor Bruce Chilton, in his book Rabbi Jesus). Analyses of Jesus’ life by many contemporary NT scholars (e.g. Professors Crossan, Borg and Fredriksen, On Faith panelists) via the NT and related documents have concluded that only about 30% of Jesus' sayings and ways noted in the NT were authentic. The rest being embellishments (e.g. miracles)/hallucinations made/had by the NT authors to impress various Christian, Jewish and Pagan sects.
The 30% of the NT that is "authentic Jesus" like everything in life was borrowed/plagiarized and/or improved from those who came before. In Jesus' case, it was the ways and sayings of the Babylonians, Greeks, Persians, Egyptians, Hittites, Canaanites, OT, John the Baptizer and possibly the ways and sayings of traveling Greek Cynics.
http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/theories.html
For added "pizzazz", Catholic/Christian theologians divided god the singularity into three persons and invented atonement as an added guilt trip for the "pew people" to go along with this trinity of overseers. By doing so, they made god the padre into god the "filicider".
Current crises:
Pedophiliac priests, atonement theology and original sin!!!!
Luther, Calvin, Joe Smith, Henry VIII, Wesley, Roger Williams, the Great “Babs” et al, founders of Christian-based religions or combination religions also suffered from the belief in/hallucinations of "pretty wingie thingie" visits and "prophecies" for profits analogous to the myths of Catholicism (resurrections, apparitions, ascensions and immaculate conceptions).
Current crises:
Adulterous preachers, "propheteering/ profiteering" evangelicals and atonement theology, all male hierarchies and strange banking and funding.