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December 2014

December 15, 2014

Why Can’t We Do Evil that Good Might Come of It? Even to Save a Life? – UPDATED

Erin Arlinghaus challenged me (update below) to explain why it so important for any ethical system, religious...

December 12, 2014

More Bad Arguments: The Good Man Defense

Moving beyond any particular example of terrible writing, I want to address a non-argument I've...

December 11, 2014

IVF, Torture, and Other Hot Moral Topics: Do the Ends Justify the Means?

The topic of ends-vs.-means has been circulating a bunch lately. Are you allowed to do...

December 10, 2014

Debate, Dissent, and Dishonesty: What Makes a Good Argument, and What’s Just Embarrassing?

In discussions surrounding Notre Dame's staffing problem, a question was posed: When is an argument...

December 09, 2014

Are You Smarter than a Notre Dame Theologian? Episode 2, IVF Edition

Tom McDonald pointed me to this article, co-authored by Joel Baden and Candida Moss -- the...

December 08, 2014

Notre Dame Professor Demonstrates What’s Wrong with Catholic Education – UPDATED

(Scroll down to the bottom for updates.) Apparently you can be a professor in the...

December 07, 2014

To Make Things Beautiful is to Make Yourself Human

In time for the Advent Wreath link-up at CatholicMom.com, my daughter put together this for...

December 02, 2014

You Can Have Santa Magic Without Lying to Your Kids

This post is not about "mental reservation." This is about how it's entirely possible...

November 2014

November 29, 2014

Well Hello, Advent. We Meet Again.

Someone reminded me it was Advent this Sunday. Yikes. But it doesn't have to be...

November 25, 2014

100 Things to Do on Thanksgiving Instead of Shopping

It is not necessary for other people to miss out on Thanksgiving so that you...

November 24, 2014

Hating the Holidays as the Precursor to Happiness

You're supposed to be happy now, because it's the holidays. The rest of the year,...

November 22, 2014

In Favor of Incompetent Housewives

Your must-read column for today is Calah Alexander's essay on what it's like being...

November 11, 2014

Gay and Catholic: What’s Not to Love?

Eve Tushnet's new book Gay and Catholic is this month's Patheos book club book, so you...

November 05, 2014

You know you’ve done *something* right when . . .

. . . We're in the truck, and the middle-schooler makes some remark to me...

November 03, 2014

A Right Relationship with Sister Death

The media is gushing over another high-profile suicide, which is of course high-profile precisely because...

October 2014

October 31, 2014

ISIS and Just Warfare: Is Now the Time for Men of Good Will to Intervene?

To join the discussion about Rise of ISIS, a Threat We Cannot Ignore, or...

October 27, 2014

Playground Evangelization: Making Parishes More Welcoming for Families

Two girls and I pulled into St. Mary's Greenville Saturday evening with half an hour...

October 16, 2014

Ebola and Your Spiritual Life – Why Yes, You Are Going to Die

I've been following the Ebola news with interest. It takes a special kind of hubris...

October 10, 2014

#Synod14 — Annulment Talk: Resources for Beginners and Pundits Alike

Here are a handful of resources for those who are interested in following all the...

October 09, 2014

What California Consent Teaches Us About Women’s Needs

There's some exasperated amusement in St. Blogs over the new California laws concerning sexual consent...

October 07, 2014

Women Demystified: To Love Her is to Tell Her How Beautiful She Is

My daughter is in middle school, and I enjoy going clothes shopping with her. How...

October 01, 2014

St. Therese Chocolate Update – Free Shipping through 10/14 at Equal Exchange

You can count on me for news you can use. In this case, free shipping...

September 2014

September 18, 2014

Something Lovely: Newly-Written Traditional Country Music

In this ironic age, in which everything is a riff on something else, it's hard to...

September 17, 2014

Something Fun: The Secrets of the Southern Appalachians Unveiled

New book out from one of my college friends* and her trusty colleague: Exploring Southern...

September 11, 2014

Greed, Human Suffering, and Catholic Social Teaching – Links Worth Your Time

Linking around on human rights & Catholic social teaching: Brandon @ Siris debunks a few...

September 03, 2014

Head’s Up, Combox Closing

FYI - the disappearance of the combox is not a technical glitch. I have the...

September 02, 2014

Remedial Organizational Skills with Jennifer: Dry Erase Boards

Up at CatholicMom.com: The true story of how I fell in love with dry...

August 2014

August 31, 2014

Something Good: Christian Soul Music with Actual Poetry in It

Just finished listening to the rough mix of Sam Rocha's freshly released album, Late to...

August 30, 2014

3 Ways Homeschoolers Socialize Differently than School Kids

I've been in the depths of back-to-school preparation on multiple fronts, and I'm continually astonished...

August 30, 2014

Nerd Boy Treasures: Badcaps.net

Got on the computer and discovered someone else had been surfing the internet. Browser was...