Blog Update 2014

I've been thinking about reviving this blog for some time now, after all my personal distractions lately. Of course, it won't be easy. I'll have to rebuild whatever small audience I had before. But getting page views was never really my main goal. I've met a few friends in the Catholic blogosphere and on social media, and they've been supportive. For their sake, I should probably continue growing in the Catholic faith. If I have interesting thoughts about this sometimes hectic journey, perhaps I can share them here.

I'll also have to consider my focus. Before I went on hiatus, I suspected it was the intersection between Catholicism, philosophy, and pop culture. A lofty goal for a young kid...

P.S. I really need to update the look of this blog. If nothing else, perhaps I can use my photo editing skills to create a catchier blog header image. 

Blog Update

Being away from the blogging game has given me time to reflect about my niche  in the Catholic blogosphere. I know for sure I'm the only Catholic blog with an image of Rainbow Dash with a halo next to St.Thomas Aquinas. Now that I'm thinking of reviving my blog, I'll probably update the banner with my improved photo editing skills .I might even keep the pony just for the uniqueness.

There are a few good Catholic sci-fi blogs (The B-MovieCatechism, God and the Machine, Otaku Catholic, and John C. Wright). My friend DGD also has "Sci-Fi Catholic." I guess I can squeeze in somewhere.

If you're curious, the "RPG" in my name stands for "Role-Playing Game." Depending on when you were born, you might immediately think either Dungeons & Dragons or The Elder Scrolls. Since I'm in my early 20s, I'm far more familiar with the recent computer RPGs.

I'm not quite sure how I can relate video games with Catholicism, but if my friends Brandon Watson and Dave Ives can extract philosophical and theological insights from the Care Bears and the Star Wars Holiday Special, I can probably do some of the same with Mass Effect or Bioshock.

Hiatus

I've been mired in pop culture distractions for the last few months and this blog has fallen silent. However, I'm hoping to start blogging again on a semi-regular basis. Perhaps I can regain some of the early momentum I had in 2012, but if I can just get back in the blogging habit, that'd be a victory for me. Wish me luck! 

Strange Notions

Brandon Vogt recently launched a website, Strange Notions, with the goal of encouraging dialogue between Catholics and atheists. There's several articles on a variety of topics, like God, philosophy, morality, science, and Jesus. Brandon managed to assemble an impressive team of contributors, most well known in the Catholic blogosphere:

Dr. Peter Kreeft, Dr. Edward Feser, Fr. Robert Barron, Fr. Robert Spitzer, Dr. Benjamin Wiker, Dr. Christopher Kaczor, Dr. Janet Smith, Dr. Kevin Vost, Christopher West, Jimmy Akin, Jennifer Fulwiler, Marc Barnes, Leah Libresco, Stacy Trascanos, Mark Shea, Tim Staples and Carl Olson.

Be sure to check it out!

The Least of Us

"I'm not a bum. I'm a human being." - Ronald Davis  HT: Aggie Catholics

Feser vs. Hart on Natural Law

The recent natural law debate launched by David Bentley Hart's First Things article continues. Thaddeus Kozinski entered the fray on Hart's side with an article in Ethika Politika. Both Edward Feser and Brandon Watson responded. Then Hart responded to Feser's response of Hart's original article. Finally, just today, Feser posted a cleverly titled response to Hart's response, very likely to result in another response by Hart.

Meanwhile, on a related note, Brandon has continued posting his introductory series on natural law theory. So far, there's parts I, II, IIIa, and IIIb.

Coming Attractions

I'm thinking of picking up my blogging, since I haven't been active in a while on account of being distracted by my pop culture-related video making. Perhaps I can kill two birds with one stone and blog about my reading of Alex Pruss's One Body and the What is Marriage? book by George/Anderson/Girgis. It'll also give me an excuse to reread the chapter on sexual morality in the Catechism.

A few other books I'd really like to get are Karol Wojtyla's Love and Responsibility and J. Budziszewski's On the Meaning of Sex.

Hopefully I can stick to a blogging schedule.

Gosnell

I haven't posted in a while, as I'm still trying to sort through various concerns both personal and school-related, in addition to the typical pop culture distractions afflicting a millennial like me. However, more important than my current blogging malaise is the disgusting news about abortionist Kermit Gosnell and the mainstream media blackout on the murder case. I don't even feel like sharing the gruesome details. However, word definitely needs to get out, even if it doesn't fit the MSM's typical pro-choice bias.

Be sure to check out Liz Scalia's coverage.

Over at Clan Donaldson, Cari still manages to find ways to cheer up, using images of Rainbow Dash.

MLP: FiM Fan Animations

I haven't posted on My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic in some time. To make up for this lack of pony, here are two recent released fan animations:

"Snowdrop" by SillyFillyStudios 

and the highly anticipated "Double Rainboom" by FlamingoRich:

Easter Sunday

Khristós Anésti! Alithós Anésti! Christus resurrexit! Resurrexit vere! Christ is Risen! Truly He is Risen!

SCOTUS Starts Hearings on DOMA and Prop 8. Cases.

A transcript of yesterday's Supreme Court hearings is available here. (HT: First Thoughts)

As for the basics of the same-sex marriage debate, especially regarding the nature of marriage, and why the state takes an interest in marriage, see the following:

- Robert P. George, Ryan T. Anderson, & Sherif Girgis, "What is Marriage?" article, book

- Ryan T. Anderson, "Marriage: What It Is, Why It Matters, and the Consequences of Redefining It," The Heritage Foundation

- Steven Smith, "The Red Herring of "Marriage Equality," Public Discourse

- Brandon Vogt, "10 Best Arguments for 'Same-Sex Marriage;…and Why They’re Flawed," Our Sunday Visitor

- Francis Beckwith, "Interracial Marriage and Same-Sex Marriage," Public Discourse

- Tim Hsaio, "The Case for Conjugal Marriage" flowchart

- Marcel LeJoune, "Why Same-Sex Marriage Is A Bad Idea," Aggie Catholics




Also, here's Ryan T. Anderson debating Piers Morgan on CNN (HT: The Foundry):




I stand with Ryan!

A Link to the Past

Just a few links from around the web:

- Aristotelian and Thomist-inclined readers might be interested to hear that 3:AM Magazine recently interviewed John Haldane and E.J. Lowe.

- The Lawrence Krauss "nothingness" show continues as philosopher David Albert, writer of a critical New York Times review of the book A Universe from Nothing, lost his invitation to an upcoming debate on "The Existence of Nothing" involving Krauss and other physicists. (HT: Bill Vallicella)

Krauss's blatant equivocation in his use of the word "nothing" needs little reiteration, but for those curious, the philosophers Bill Vallicella and Ed Feser both do an excellent job. For similar bad philosophizing on "nothing" by Stephen Hawking, see the responses by philosopher William Lane Craig and physicist Stephen M. Barr.

Fan Made Silmarillion Trailer

Neat. (HT: Michael Liccione)

Habemus Papam

Pope Francis I, formerly Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio

Cardinal Bergoglio from Argentina elected as Pope Francis I. 

His blessing:

Brothers and sisters, good evening!

You know that it was the duty of the Conclave to give Rome a Bishop.  It seems that my brother Cardinals have gone to the ends of the earth to get one... but here we are... I thank you for your welcome.  The diocesan community of Rome now has its Bishop.  Thank you!      And first of all, I would like to offer a prayer for our Bishop Emeritus, Benedict XVI.  Let us pray together for him, that the Lord may bless him and that Our Lady may keep him. 

And now, we take up this journey:  Bishop and People.  This journey of the Church of Rome which presides in charity over all the Churches.  A journey of fraternity, of love, of trust among us.  Let us always pray for one another.  Let us pray for the whole world, that there may be a great spirit of fraternity.  It is my hope for you that this journey of the Church, which we start today, and in which my Cardinal Vicar, here present, will assist me, will be fruitful for the evangelization of this most beautiful city. 

And now I would like to give the blessing, but first - first I ask a favour of you: before the Bishop blesses his people, I ask you to pray to the Lord that he will bless me: the prayer of the people asking the blessing for their Bishop.  Let us make, in silence, this prayer:  your prayer over me. 

Now I will give the Blessing to you and to the whole world, to all men and women of good will.

Brothers and sisters, I leave you now.  Thank you for your welcome.  Pray for me and until we meet again.  We will see each other soon.  Tomorrow I wish to go and pray to Our Lady, that she may watch over all of Rome.  Good night and sleep well!

Handy Dandy Conclave Resources

While I continue to try to get back into the blogging mood, here's the Crescat's useful compilation of resources on the Conclave election, which begins tomorrow.

Also, Thomas McDonald of "God and the Machine" recommended the Conclave news app for Apple and Android devices, and Jeff Miller, the "Curt Jester," pointed out the PopeAlarm.com text message/email notification service for when the smoke rises.

It's only Natural...

The philosopher David Bentley Hart recently touched off a natural law debate with an article in the March issue of First Things (HT: First Thoughts). Hart basically argues that natural law arguments are unpersuasive in today's public square, in addition to being philosophically problematic (falling prey to the standard "is-ought" problem).

There have been several responses from around the conservative blogosphere. Rod Dreher and Alan Jacobs at The American Conservative are both sympathetic to Hart, while R.J Snell at Public Discourse defends the viability of "new" natural law theory, which focuses on practical reasoning.

Closer to home, our friend Brandon Watson is very critical of Hart's Kantianism, on Siris and on Edward Feser's combox. Meanwhile, Feser, fresh from another take down of Lawrence Krauss's "nothing" nonsense, just posted a response to Hart on the First Things page.

Not on the topic of natural law but still somewhat relevant is James Chastek's post on "blindness to what is self-evident to us."

UPDATE

James Chastek of Just Thomist posted his take on Hart.

Cicero on the Natural Law

True law is Reason, right and natural, commanding people to fulfill their obligations and prohibiting and deterring them from doing wrong. Its validity is universal; it is immutable and eternal. Its commands and prohibitions apply effectively to good men, and those uninfluenced by them are bad. Any attempt to suppress this law, to repeal any part of it, is sinful; to cancel it entirely is impossible. Neither the Senate nor the Assembly can exempt us from its demands; we need no interpreter or expounder of it but ourselves. There will not be one law at Rome, one at Athens, or one now and one later, but all nations will be subject all the time to this one changeless and everlasting law. -- Cicero, De Rei Publica (On the commonwealth), III, 33

HT: James V. Schall,  Sundry Reflections on "The Natural Law Bibliography"

A Tribute to Benedict XVI's Final Day as Pope: The Regensburg Address

Source

Susan of Ironic Catholic asked her fellow Catholic bloggers to post a small tribute to Benedict XVI's final day as Pope.

I think it's fitting with Benedict XVI's academic background that I quote from his Regensburg Address, which dealt, among other things, with the perennial issue of the relation between Faith and Reason, Fides et Ratio:


The West has long been endangered by this aversion to the questions which underlie its rationality, and can only suffer great harm thereby. The courage to engage the whole breadth of reason, and not the denial of its grandeur - this is the programme with which a theology grounded in Biblical faith enters into the debates of our time. "Not to act reasonably, not to act with logos, is contrary to the nature of God", said Manuel II, according to his Christian understanding of God, in response to his Persian interlocutor. It is to this great logos, to this breadth of reason, that we invite our partners in the dialogue of cultures. To rediscover it constantly is the great task of the university.

- James V. Schall's book on the Address.

Pope Benedict's XVI's final tweet

                                                          HT: Aggie Catholics

Aristotle on the Natural Law

"It will now be well to make a complete classification of just and unjust actions. We may begin by observing that they have been defined relatively to two kinds of law, and also relatively to two classes of persons. By the two kinds of law I mean particular law and universal law. Particular law is that which each community lays down and applies to its own members: this is partly written and partly unwritten. Universal law is the law of Nature. For there really is, as every one to some extent divines, a natural justice and injustice that is binding on all men, even on those who have no association or covenant with each other. " -- Aristotle, Rhetoric, 1.13.1373b5
(HT: David Oderberg, "The Metaphysical Foundations of Natural Law")

How to Become a Pope

This seems like an excellent short video explaining the conclave, the election of a new Pope (HT: Lisa Hendey):

I haven't read the comments, but this being YouTube, you can probably imagine what lies in store.