I have heard liberal Catholic priests and Protestant ministers say that there is something “unchristian” about the death penalty. I have even heard those who say that the Church has always been opposed to executions, but I challenge them to cite one passage of Scripture or one creed, one conciliar document, one encyclical that unequivocally condemns the execution of murderers.
It is death that makes life so precious. Even Adam and Eve, without knowing it, lived under the shadow of the death that might come to them if they rebelled against their creator, and some protoplasmic earth-blob that were to go on growing throughout eternity would endure an existence without moral significance.
The wise men of 1787, as suspicious of the absolutism of an entrenched elite as they were of mob rule (which they called democracy), never intended the Supreme Court to hold ultimate or absolute authority over decisions made by all American governments.
The Supreme Court, supposedly designed as a check on arbitrary government, has been a force for tyranny since the days of John Marshall.
I only have one question to put to conservatives who are waxing wroth about the media coverage of the Trump Administration: Why are you reading Time and the New York Times? Why are you watching ABC, CNN, and FOX?
Christian pastors and leaders throughout history have often been stupid, ignorant, and corrupt, always eager to twist the Faith to fit whatever opinions are fashionable, but the current generation of vipers is really the limit.
Many libertarians and classical liberals regard St. Thomas Aquinas as one of the enemies of liberty, of economic liberty in particular. According to these critics (and to some self-described Thomists), Thomas is supposed to have devised an abstract and systematic theory of an ideal state, which would have the power to regulate the marketplace by establishing a quasi-Marxian “just price” for all goods and by prohibiting all interest on investments. This opinion of Thomas’s economic views is substantially wrong, both in the details and in its overall point of view. Although Thomas was far from being a classical liberal, his moral and political philosophy, once properly understood, gives no support to statism in any form.
This is the meaning behind Herodotus’ still famous tale of Solon and Croesus. The Greek philosopher was visiting the fabulously wealthy Lydian king, who asked him to name the happiest man on earth. Solon tells him of an Athenian who lived well, produced a good family, and died fighting for his people. When Croesus, a little crest-fallen, asks him if there is a close second, Solon tells him the true story of Cleobis and Biton, who, when they could not find the oxen to yoke to the cart, died after pulling their mother to a festival of Argive Hera. “Well,...
Hollywood and Congress are free to make up any reality they like, but anyone who has lived on the ground in the real American knows perfectly well that the welfare-consuming classes are living off the sweat of American workers, whose only reward is to be insulted and attacked.
We are very grateful for the continuing loyalty of our subscribers in the face of delays, irregularities, and lapses. I do want to alert you all to an upcoming renovation of the site. …While the basic form will be retained, including the featured articles on the front page, we are making a number of changes that should enrich the experience and facilitate use.
