Ecclesia et Civitas

Reality Matters

February 2, 2015 James Kalb 0

Basic issues have basic importance. Does God exist? If He does, what is He like? If He doesn’t, can an objective moral order survive His absence? It seems obvious that such questions are crucial to […]

Ecclesia et Civitas

Normality Is Not Hatred

December 3, 2014 James Kalb 0

Very recently the view that homosexuality is entirely normal has become not only widespread but compulsory in secular public discussion. Leaders of thought tell us the change has been part of a general deepening of […]

Ecclesia et Civitas

The Recovery of Human Nature

November 6, 2014 James Kalb 0

Like other living things, human beings have a distinct nature as beings of a particular kind. We have conditions we try to bring about, conditions that help us thrive, and characteristic ways of acting, responding […]

Ecclesia et Civitas

What is Culture War?

October 29, 2014 James Kalb 0

A culture is a way of living, a system of habit and attitude, an orientation toward life and the world, that is shared and basically taken for granted within a community. It arises naturally when […]

Ecclesia et Civitas

Liberalism, Choice, and Compulsion

September 15, 2014 James Kalb 0

Social liberals consider traditional moral restrictions cruel in their very essence. Each of us, they believe, should be as free as possible to pursue his happiness as he sees it, consistent with the equal ability […]

Ecclesia et Civitas

The World and the Church

July 11, 2014 James Kalb 0

In his speech closing the Second Vatican Council, Pope Paul VI noted that “the trend of modern culture” is “centered on humanity, … the modern mind” is “accustomed to assess everything in terms of usefulness,” […]

Ecclesia et Civitas

Carrying on the Battle

June 12, 2014 James Kalb 0

The issues that now put Catholics in opposition to secular public thought are too basic to ignore. The Church accepts God as our reference point, and views freedom to develop our relation to Him and […]