The Society for Classical Studies condemns the relentless horror of police brutality and murder of black men, women, and children, including George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Atatiana Jefferson, Rekia Boyd, Sandra Bland, Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade, Freddie Gray, Eric Garner, Trayvon Martin, Tamir Rice, and Rodney King, to name just a few of the victims.
Duke of Wellington, Robert Browning, Edward Gibbon, Justinian the Great, Meredith Wilson, Pietro Bembo, Alexander Pope, Wild Bill Hickock, Patrick Henry, Benny Goodman
Omens are plentiful these days. As reported here a year ago, the Oak of Mamre, in whose shadow Abraham invited the angels to rest in Genesis, is all dried up. Now a red calf born in Jerusalem has “undergone extensive examination by rabbinical experts” who have concluded that it is indeed the Red Heifer of biblical prophecy….
In this episode, Dr. Fleming and Stephen discuss Memorial Day, formerly known as Decoration Day. Dr. Fleming first explains his opposition in general to these sorts of government sponsored fake holy-days, then specifically why he opposes Memorial Day like most federal holidays.
In this episode of Off the Shelf, Dr. Fleming and Stephen discuss what is often pushed onto today’s high schoolers as a candidate for “The Great American Novel.” They start the discussion by examining whether there is such a thing as “the” Great American Novel and then delve a bit deeper into a book that pleasantly surprised both of them on what was a third or fourth read.
What, it can’t be! Mark Levin having something nice to say about Confederate war heroes? Not at all. What a relief, when he explained that the Democratic Party was the party of evil, the party of slavery, and thank the almighty for the Union heroes who crushed the Southern Democrats, whose children would go on to join the clan, impose Jim Crow, and Lynch completely innocent black men.
In this episode Dr. Fleming and Stephen continue to discuss the role of the gods in Homer as well as the outlines of Greek religion in general, its practices, “commandments,” and theology. We also briefly explore the age-old discussion: why do the good suffer?
So it would seem that the gloriously rational chimera, on which the hopes of many a totalitarian ruler are presently pinned, has landed. AI, we are told, is here to enslave populations in places like China or Russia, to win elections in places like the U.S. and Great Britain, and to do just about everything else except make a good cup of tea.
The greatest fact of Lincoln’s career is the war he imposed upon the nation, a conflict that changed the nature of war in the civilized world. As one of Lincoln’s favorite generals observed, “war is hell,” and it has been hell at least since General Sherman gave us the example of total war.
I might begin with the vernacular observation that, like all of Saint Thomas’s five ways, the argument from design seems rooted in human imagination. At some point we wake up and look around and see that the world is wonderful. We may be the Hebrew psalmist: “The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament shows his handiwork” (Psalm 19:1), or Saint Francis, who sang of brother sun and sister moon
