Category Archives: Eric Voegelin

The Social Crisis of the Working Class

Charles Murray of the American Enterprise Institute in Washington remains the single most significant sociologist since the passing of Seymour Martin Lipset.  His latest is titled ‘The State of White America’.  This is a startling account of reversal of America’s … Continue reading

Posted in Alex Tocqueville, Conservatism, Constitution, Education, Eric Voegelin, Ethics, Feminization Of Men, Hans Urs von Balthasar, Harry Jaffa, Identity Development, International Relations, Islam, John Paul II, Marriage Preparation, Morality, Pope Benedict XVI, Prayer, Sexual Ethics, Sociology, The Demise Of The Black Family, Theology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The True Spirit Of A Counterrevolutionary: Whittaker Chambers A Tormented Man

Most readers of this very blog are not old enough to remember the vapid ideological atmosphere that gripped the 1930’s as examined throughout the writings of Norman Podhoretz or Irving Kristol.  Both men ruthlessly examined the shape and commitment of … Continue reading

Posted in Eric Voegelin, Ethics, Identity Development, International Relations, Islam, John Paul II, Morality, Philosophy, Politics, Raymond Aron, Satan/Evil, Terrorism, Theology | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Huxley, Orwell & The Challenge Islam Faces

Electronic media decentralizes.  It permits every single individual to be a center without margins.  There is no analogue in the natural world that can challenge its scope or authority.  The problem is when we permit such innovation to eclipse the … Continue reading

Posted in Eric Voegelin, International Relations, Islam, Israel, Middle East Peace, Near East, Politics, Terrorism, Xavier Zubiri | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

John Paul II: The Defeat Of Modernity & A New Birth Of Freedom

Raymond Aron, Isaiah Berlin, Winston Churchill and Pope John Paul II had much in common.  Aron and the French left were ardent in their support of a secular humanism that had its birth in 1789, Berlin was a deracinated Jew … Continue reading

Posted in Arnold Toynbee, Eric Voegelin, John Paul II, Morality, Theology, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Fascist Islam: History & Prospects

Although Malise Ruthven is credited with coining the term ‘Islamofascism’ while writing for the British Independent in 1990, the term was coined by Maxine Rodinson.  Nevertheless, we have throughout the west a vast intellectual reserve providing antecedents for us to … Continue reading

Posted in Alex Tocqueville, Arnold Toynbee, Constitution, Eric Voegelin, Ethics, Hans Urs von Balthasar, International Relations, Islam, John Paul II, Kant, Morality, Near East, Oriana Fallachi, Politics, Pope Benedict XVI, Sexual Ethics, Sociology, Terrorism, Theology, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

George Orwell & Aldous Huxley Fathers of Doublespeak: A Clarion Call To Church & Artists

Both Orwell (real name Eric Blair) and Huxley left a substantial body of work that bore out the conviction that modern man was incapable of coping, resolving the demands of his time.  Other writers, less artistic yet still formidable in … Continue reading

Posted in Alex Tocqueville, Arnold Toynbee, Conservatism, Eric Voegelin, Hans Urs von Balthasar, International Relations, Islam, John Paul II, Morality, Politics, Pope Benedict XVI, Raymond Aron, Reagan, Sociology, solzhenitzen, Theology, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Christ Or Kung Fu: A Historical Contrast Of Growth

I’ve studied and taught Chinese (Sinic) civilization with enough rigor so as to provide some insight into how one can approach and therefore discern the enduring contribution of both Confucius and Lao Tse; both being the authorities on Confuciansim and … Continue reading

Posted in Alex Tocqueville, Arnold Toynbee, China, Conservatism, Constitution, Education, Eric Voegelin, Ethics, Frontier, International Relations, Kant, Morality, Near East, Politics, Sun Tzu, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

A True Catholic Humanist: Gilbert Murray & The Imploding West

Gilbert Murray is not often thought of being Roman Catholic, I remain unsure of his personal affections regarding the sources of contemporary Catholicism; he remained throughout his life a very deep public man of Britain, throughly engaged in the issues … Continue reading

Posted in Alex Tocqueville, Arnold Toynbee, Conservatism, Education, Eric Voegelin, Ethics, Hans Urs von Balthasar, International Relations, Islam, John Paul II, Middle East Peace, Morality, Near East, Perils Of Specialization, Politics, Raymond Aron, Satan/Evil, Theology, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Civilizational Growth Or Decline: Technique, Expansion, Finding The Criteria For Intelligibility Of Civilizations

It remains out of vogue in our age of political correctness to speak of either growth or decline of civilizations.  But I do believe that their are criteria to discover a field of intelligibility from which to study and determine … Continue reading

Posted in Alex Tocqueville, Arnold Toynbee, China, Conservatism, Constitution, Education, Eric Voegelin, Ethics, Hans Urs von Balthasar, Harry Jaffa, International Relations, John Paul II, Morality, Near East, Perils Of Specialization, Politics, Raymond Aron, Shakespeare, Sun Tzu, Theology, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

The Causes Of State Terror: 1789, Russia, Rawanda, The Vatican & American Exceptionalism

The ‘Reign of Terror’ that culminated in the French Revolution (1789), the Russian ‘Red Terror’ of Lenin and Stalin, African genocide in Rawanda, Fidel Castro, Pol Pot, and legions of other rulers have embraced violence for political ends.  Where was … Continue reading

Posted in Alex Tocqueville, Arnold Toynbee, China, Constitution, Eric Voegelin, Harry Jaffa, International Relations, John Paul II, Morality, Politics, Raymond Aron, Satan/Evil, Theology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment