"A New Worldly Order" explores the 1991 social encyclical of Pope John Paul II, "C... more "A New Worldly Order" explores the 1991 social encyclical of Pope John Paul II, "Centesimus Annus" which is expected to shape the course of Christian reflection on human freedom for many years to come. The cultural, political, and economic aspects of the human quest for a freedom that truly liberates are all addressed by the Pope in this document, which also contains his analysis of the dynamics of the Revolution of 1989 in central and eastern Europe. In addition to a condensed version of the encyclical, and analyses of the pope's letter from 23 American and European commentators representing a wide range of religious and political convictions. "A New Worldly Order" includes a little-known commentary on "Centesimus Annus" by the Pope himself, drawn from John Paul II's remarks at a general audience on the day before the letter was released to the public. The commentaries and the condensed version of the encyclical should make this book helpful to the general reader interested in entering one of the great debates of the last decade of the 20th century.
What might be the new sources of order and disorder in the post-cold war era? Some worry that rel... more What might be the new sources of order and disorder in the post-cold war era? Some worry that religion will play a more corrosive role in international conflict, a perspective challenged here by George Weigel, who argues that religion can be a force for peace. Others point ...
The focus of the policymaker on the minutiae of governmental options and process too often ignore... more The focus of the policymaker on the minutiae of governmental options and process too often ignores major historical forces shaping basic political, economic, and social realities and policy choices about them. The essay that follows examines “the transformation of the Roman ...
Logos: A Journal of Catholic Thought and Culture, 2003
Christians have been thinking through their relationship with the tangled worlds-within-worlds of... more Christians have been thinking through their relationship with the tangled worlds-within-worlds of politics, economics, and culture for nearly two millennia. The essential nature of that unavoidable entanglement and the distinctive character of the Christian’s presence in “the world” came into focus early. As the subapostolic Letter to Diognetus reminds us, Christians are always “resident aliens” in the world, for while Christians honor just rulers, obey just laws, and contribute to the common good of whatever society in which they find themselves, a Christian’s ultimate loyalty is given to a Kingdom that is elsewhere. Christians believe that history can be read in its fullness only in the light of faith in the Risen Christ, the Lord of history, and in that perspective, history is both the arena of God’s action and the antechamber to our true home—the “city of the living God” (Heb. : ). Those who know this about history live in history in a distinctive way.1 One might think that this two-edged conviction about the present and the future absolves Christians from responsibility for politics, economics, and culture, and some Christians have, in fact, chosen a
“Pluralism must not be confused with, and is in fact endangered by, philosophical and ethical ind... more “Pluralism must not be confused with, and is in fact endangered by, philosophical and ethical indifference. Commitment to strong, clear philosophical and ethical ideas need not imply either intolerance or opposition to democratic pluralism. On the contrary, democratic pluralism requires an agreement to be locked in public argument over disagreements of consequence within the bonds of civility.” — The Williamsburg Charter The question of how we contend in the American public square on the many issues involved in the question of the First Amendment's religious clauses (or “clause,” as some of us would insist) is inextricably bound up in the question of who constitutes the “we” involved in the contention. That is, how we contend must take account of who we are. Unless there is some clarity on this point, the debate over the nature of the civility to which we are called is doomed to be conducted at a perilous level of abstraction. As I survey the terrain from my own vantage point — that of a Roman Catholic theologian engaged in a host of issues and controversies at the intersection of moral norms and American public policy — the “we” involved here is a many splendored thing indeed. For our purposes, it seems to me that the “we” has at least four salient characteristics.
"A New Worldly Order" explores the 1991 social encyclical of Pope John Paul II, "C... more "A New Worldly Order" explores the 1991 social encyclical of Pope John Paul II, "Centesimus Annus" which is expected to shape the course of Christian reflection on human freedom for many years to come. The cultural, political, and economic aspects of the human quest for a freedom that truly liberates are all addressed by the Pope in this document, which also contains his analysis of the dynamics of the Revolution of 1989 in central and eastern Europe. In addition to a condensed version of the encyclical, and analyses of the pope's letter from 23 American and European commentators representing a wide range of religious and political convictions. "A New Worldly Order" includes a little-known commentary on "Centesimus Annus" by the Pope himself, drawn from John Paul II's remarks at a general audience on the day before the letter was released to the public. The commentaries and the condensed version of the encyclical should make this book helpful to the general reader interested in entering one of the great debates of the last decade of the 20th century.
What might be the new sources of order and disorder in the post-cold war era? Some worry that rel... more What might be the new sources of order and disorder in the post-cold war era? Some worry that religion will play a more corrosive role in international conflict, a perspective challenged here by George Weigel, who argues that religion can be a force for peace. Others point ...
The focus of the policymaker on the minutiae of governmental options and process too often ignore... more The focus of the policymaker on the minutiae of governmental options and process too often ignores major historical forces shaping basic political, economic, and social realities and policy choices about them. The essay that follows examines “the transformation of the Roman ...
Logos: A Journal of Catholic Thought and Culture, 2003
Christians have been thinking through their relationship with the tangled worlds-within-worlds of... more Christians have been thinking through their relationship with the tangled worlds-within-worlds of politics, economics, and culture for nearly two millennia. The essential nature of that unavoidable entanglement and the distinctive character of the Christian’s presence in “the world” came into focus early. As the subapostolic Letter to Diognetus reminds us, Christians are always “resident aliens” in the world, for while Christians honor just rulers, obey just laws, and contribute to the common good of whatever society in which they find themselves, a Christian’s ultimate loyalty is given to a Kingdom that is elsewhere. Christians believe that history can be read in its fullness only in the light of faith in the Risen Christ, the Lord of history, and in that perspective, history is both the arena of God’s action and the antechamber to our true home—the “city of the living God” (Heb. : ). Those who know this about history live in history in a distinctive way.1 One might think that this two-edged conviction about the present and the future absolves Christians from responsibility for politics, economics, and culture, and some Christians have, in fact, chosen a
“Pluralism must not be confused with, and is in fact endangered by, philosophical and ethical ind... more “Pluralism must not be confused with, and is in fact endangered by, philosophical and ethical indifference. Commitment to strong, clear philosophical and ethical ideas need not imply either intolerance or opposition to democratic pluralism. On the contrary, democratic pluralism requires an agreement to be locked in public argument over disagreements of consequence within the bonds of civility.” — The Williamsburg Charter The question of how we contend in the American public square on the many issues involved in the question of the First Amendment's religious clauses (or “clause,” as some of us would insist) is inextricably bound up in the question of who constitutes the “we” involved in the contention. That is, how we contend must take account of who we are. Unless there is some clarity on this point, the debate over the nature of the civility to which we are called is doomed to be conducted at a perilous level of abstraction. As I survey the terrain from my own vantage point — that of a Roman Catholic theologian engaged in a host of issues and controversies at the intersection of moral norms and American public policy — the “we” involved here is a many splendored thing indeed. For our purposes, it seems to me that the “we” has at least four salient characteristics.
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