Just four years after that conflict concluded with the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, Sir Walter Scott defined Robin Hood for Britain’s era of peak nationalism, in his epic three-novel reimagining of 12th-century England, Ivanhoe: a text that arguably made an equivalent contribution to Victorian Britain’s self-image as the cowboy myth did in... See more

Bronislaw Malinowski claimed that, unlike literate peoples, oral societies used language as a “mode of action and not an instrument of reflection.” As Ong noted, in ancient Hebrew dabar means word, but it also connotes “event” or “action,” especially regarding the word of God.

Gif Horse: Gifs reiterate an oral tradition as old as The Odyssey Britney... See more

in the language of Martin Buber, God should be treated as a “Thou,” not an “It.” Casual use of the divine name leads to talking “about” God—as if God were an object—rather than to God. In a broad sense, all theological discussion risks taking God’s name in vain insofar as it treats God as an object of study rather than a real presence before whom... See more

More than anything, Christ Crucified is a revelation to humanity that God is love. However, it teaches us that love is not coercive. The philosopher’s God is expected to selectively coerce, controlling evil and rewarding the good. The scandal of the Cross is that it reveals the weakness of God who, in love, suffers Himself and His creation to... See more

The trinity of beauty, goodness, and truth is best perceived through the lens of thanksgiving. It is at the center of noetic perception. It forms the greater part of the devotion that “lays up treasure in heaven” in the thankfulness of almsgiving.

An Avalanche of Kindness Fr. Stephen 11.28.2024

In the event, Mattei divides the common goods into 4 types, and each is argued to properly belong to everyone in a community, and not to a particular someone or company. To wit:

natural goods (water, air, the environment, etc.)

social goods (cultural goods, knowledge, historical memory, etc.)

material goods (public squares, public parks, gardens,... See more

This form of anonymous, procedural power, which I’ve characterised elsewhere as “swarmism”, has emerged as a central feature of post-liberal governance. To supporters, it’s innocuous: just well-designed institutions functioning as they should.

[“deep state” (Bannon) “the Cathedral” (Curtis Yarvin)]

Why the Right loves a Great Man Mary Harrington... See more

“Beauty is mysterious as well as terrible.” Noted the Russian novelist Fydor Dostoevsky, “God and the devil are fighting there, and the battlefield is the heart of man.”

Decoupling beauty and truth: Lichtwark’s Education of the Eye John Hartley 9.20.2024

it is a technocracy nevertheless. One that is about to take over the US government, in a movement that has worrying parallels and rhymes with McNamara’s Whiz Kids in the 60s. I expect the story to unfold about as well. The visions of a self-congratulating anointed technocracy never work out as expected, regardless of its ideological origins.

Enginee... See more