Fodder
Items to spark thought and discussion from our ongoing research
‘I Have Got the Courage’
Fri 13 Mar 2009 • Responses: 1 • by Robert Musil
An excerpt from The Man Without Qualities: Volume 1 (Volume 2 is here), as used in our curriculum When No One Sees.
Trinity Forum President Cherie Harder introduces the excerpt here.
The picture that he had been drawing relieved him, like the successful conclusion of a work of art; it was not he who had brought it forth, but outwardly, linked with a mysteriously successful beginning, word had followed word, while inwardly something dissolved without his becoming conscious of it. By the time he had finished, he realized that Ulrich was the expression of nothing but this dissolved condition that all phenomena are in nowadays. . . .
“A man like that isn’t really human at all!”
Clarisse had finished chewing. “That’s just what he says himself!” she declared.
Secrets Buried in Platitudes
Mon 15 Dec 2008 by Peter Edman
An Advent reflection.
Preparing recently for Advent and Christmas, I was thinking about how much I enjoy running across a good quotation. It’s always gratifying to find someone who can express themselves in a pithy or memorable manner, particularly if they can in the process help us look at the world in a fresh way. Four quotations from the past year stood out for me particularly.
One is from an interview the novelist Walker Percy did toward the end of his life, collected in the book Signposts in a Strange Land. He was asked the secret of the success of his marriage. His answer helps us see something about the world:
There is no secret. Or rather, the secrets are buried in platitudes. That is to say, it has something to do with love, commitment, and family.
Let all mortal flesh keep silence
Thu 04 Dec 2008 • Responses: 2 • by TTF Staff
If there never be a silence in the soul, and a man goes on always with his own thoughts and schemes and endeavours, it brings about a moral and spiritual madness. That is tenfold worse than mere madness in the brain, when a man judges everything by false ways, puts a wrong value on everything, thinks little of great things and much of little things—that is a common way with all of us more or less, only, thank God, with some of us it is growing less.
There comes a silence every now and then; and God makes it just to put a stop to this kind of thing, and give himself a chance of speaking.
Excerpted from George MacDonald’s sermon “Alone with God,” preached in Westminster Chapel, London; transcribed for the publication The Christian World Pulpit, reprinted in George MacDonald, ed. William J Peterson, Proving the Unseen (Ballantine Books, 1989). Thanks to the George MacDonald e-mail list.
New Approach to Muslim States?
Tue 30 Sep 2008 by Joseph Loconte
Last week a diverse group of political, business, military, academic, and religious leaders released a report, Changing Course: A New Direction for U.S. Relations With the Muslim World. Convened by the Search for Common Ground and the Consensus Building Institute, the group issued several recommendations, including the promotion of economic growth and good governance in Muslim states.
They summarized their work thus:
A Faith-based Prime Minister
Mon 29 Sep 2008 by Joseph Loconte
Last week former British Prime Minister Tony Blair began his stint as a Yale professor. His course, “Faith and Globalization,” grows out of his effort since leaving political office to assert a constructive role for religious belief in democratic society. Earlier this year, Blair launched a new organization devoted to this purpose, the London-based Tony Blair Faith Foundation.
Here’s what Blair had to say at a Westminster Cathedral event announcing his new venture:
Conservatism and Individualism
Thu 18 Sep 2008 by Joseph Loconte
In a recent New York Times column entitled “The Social Animal,” David Brooks took the Republican Party to task for touting policies that cater single-mindedly to individuals and their solitary choices. He cited the work of cognitive scientists, sociologists, and geneticists, whose research suggests the importance of social networks and institutions to human flourishing:
“What emerges is not a picture of self-creating individuals gloriously free from one another, but of autonomous creatures deeply interconnected with one another. Recent Republican Party doctrine has emphasized the power of the individual, but underestimates the importance of connections, relationships, institutions and social filaments that organize personal choices and make individuals what they are.”
Religion, Elections, and Foreign Affairs
Wed 10 Sep 2008 by Joseph Loconte
The policy journal Faith and International Affairs continues to impress. Its fall issue, “Faith and Foreign Policy: Recommendations for the Next President,” offers articles ranging from faith-based reconciliation efforts in Iraq to the role of religious organizations in delivering U.S. foreign aid. Editor Dennis Hoover summarizes media treatment of religion and foreign affairs this way:
“For those who were hoping that religion would be taken seriously during presidential campaign season, the good news is that media coverage and candidate rhetoric have been chock full of religious references. The bad news is that this public discourse has often lacked policy relevance—especially when it comes to the intersection of religion and foreign policy.”
A New Kind of Culture War
Wed 03 Sep 2008 by Joseph Loconte
Last year National Review published an article called, “A Farewell to Culture Wars.” That editorial decision, to borrow a line from Ronald Reagan, must now be consigned to the ash heap of history. The moral arguments about the dignity of the unborn and the nature of the family, which have helped inflame our national politics for over three decades, could never be glossed over by happy talk. Exhibit A: The choice of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, a conservative Christian, as the Republican nominee for vice president.
Religion, Politics, and Public Opinion
Fri 29 Aug 2008 by Joseph Loconte
A recent public opinion poll shows that a narrow majority of Americans do not want churches and other houses of worship to speak out on social and political matters—a reversal of previous surveys showing majority support for church engagement. Conducted by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, the survey suggests that the souring mood can mostly be attributed to conservatives. Four years ago, according to Pew, just 30 percent of conservatives believed that churches and other houses of worship should stay out of politics. Today, 50 percent of conservatives express this view. Pew pollsters then go on to make this brazen claim: “The sharp divisions between Republicans and Democrats that previously existed on this issue have disappeared.
Humanitarian ‘Impulses’ vs. Convictions
Wed 20 Aug 2008 by Joseph Loconte
Writing in last Sunday’s New York Times Magazine, Princeton professor Gary Bass observes that despite the ongoing crisis in the Darfur region of Sudan and the difficulties in the U.S.-led war in Iraq, “the idea of humanitarian intervention remains intact.”
In his essay, “Humanitarian Impulses: Why Interventions Aren’t Going Away,” Mr. Bass argues that the concept of military intervention to stop ethnic cleansing and genocide is as much a European idea as an American one:
