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The atheist Richard Dawkins said, “We are all atheists about most of the gods that humanity has ever believed in. Some of us just go one god further.” As the philosopher Bill Vallicella put it, “Given that everyone is an atheist with respect to some gods, one may as well make a clean sweep and be an atheist with respect to all gods.” One way of understanding the “one God further” objection is as aimed at minimizing the differences between atheism and theism. The only difference between theism and atheism is just one. Virtually everyone already disbelieves in more than 99% of gods (Jupiter, Isis, Baal, the Golden Calf, Thor) and the atheist takes a short step further to disbelieve in 100%.  It is true that in some matters, a difference of one is irrelevant. One millimeter of pavement d...

Joseph F. Naumann is Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas. by Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann I came of age in the 1960s. It was an era of civil unrest, race riots, anti-war protests and the sexual revolution. One of the popular bumper stickers at the time stated: Question Everything. These societal events coincided with the sessions of the Second Vatican Council and its early implementation. The council brought beautiful and much needed renewal to many aspects of Catholic life. Sadly, there was also a serious misinterpretation of the council that fostered moral confusion. The poisonous ideas of the sexual revolution crept into the church. A great cultural myth was propagated that one could not be happy or fulfilled unless you were sexually active. The rate of divorce rose d...

The bishops of Europe – together with dozens of clerical and lay participants – met in Prague last week as part of the “continental phase” of the Synod on Synodality. A final report is expected shortly (for some preliminary indications of tone and substance, click here). Synodality is a concept that many continue to find fuzzy – and worrying. Some Synodal leaders have – paradoxically – tried to reassure the worried that we’ll find out what Synodality means in the process of holding the Synod. About that, we shall see. But by then, understanding may come too late. Because the process, in some quarters, has aroused great expectations. And great expectations, if disappointed, have often led, historically, to great upheavals. Even revolutions. Even schisms. I’m in Rome this week researching a ...

“All of man’s misfortune comes from one thing, which is not knowing how to sit quietly in a room.” Blaise Pascal, who offers this insight, also notes in his Pensées that we fear silence more than anything else and seek constant distraction. No one in the past had as many distractions as we do today, making it entirely possible to spend the whole day immersed in images, text and noise. Without the ability to sit quietly, we cannot perceive the deeper things of life as we live an unreflective life, hence Pascal’s warning on our misfortune.   Almost no one would willingly give up a smartphone or return to our pre-Wi-Fi days, even though we are beginning to feel unsettled in our new digital landscape. We want peace and quiet, even as we are addicted to our devices. In fact, our tools incr...

When was the last time you received an awkward compliment? How did you respond? How would you respond to this one? “Father’s homilies are really distinctive—they have a beginning, a middle, and an end!” What do you think the speaker was getting at? Perhaps he was referring to a kind of public speaking (I wouldn’t call it “preaching”) that is illustrated by “The Three C’s—Commence, Continue, Cease.” The speaking starts and eventually stops, but it doesn’t go anywhere. It doesn’t constitute a whole, and it is not a vehicle to greater understanding. I imagine that many times, after witnessing yet another such display from a pulpit, we think to ourselves, “Well, that was useless—but at least it didn’t take very long!” Orthodox. Faithful. Free. Sign up to get Crisis articles delivered...

It might be odd to say, but one prominent virtue of two new anthologies of Christian poetry is their prose. The Saint Mary’s Book of Christian VerseChosen and introduced by Edward Short; foreword by Dana Gioia412 pages, Gracewing, 2022 Christian Poetry in America Since 1940: An AnthologyEdited by Micah Mattix and Sally Thomas205 pages, Iron Pen, 2022 It might be odd to say, but one prominent virtue of two new anthologies of Christian poetry is their prose. The Saint Mary’s Book of Christian Verse includes both an introduction by compiler Edward Short, which details the rationale behind his own selection of poetry ranging from Caedmon and The Dream of the Rood all the way to my colleague James Matthew Wilson’s “Through the Water,” and a 22-page foreword by the contemporary poet and critic D...

Breadcrumb Trail Links NP Comment Student: ‘I said there were only two genders and you were born either a male or a female and that got me into trouble’ Published Feb 08, 2023  •  Last updated 3 days ago  •  5 minute read 1354 Comments Josh Alexander charged at his Catholic high school for attending class after being excluded for indicating his intent to adhere to his religious beliefs. Photo by Chris Dacey Article content That Canada is becoming less tolerant comes as no surprise, but even so a Catholic high school getting one of their 16-year-old students arrested is a bit of a shock, especially when the heart of the issue is his religious beliefs. Advertisement 2 Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues ...