Category Archives: Culture

Posts dealing with the state of contemporary Western culture.

Donald Trump, Leftists, and Western Civilization

Posted on July 31, 2017 by Dr. J

Regular readers of this blog know that I like Western civilization. I like its great traditions of literature, art, music, political thought, scientific reasoning, and many other things, all of which have their roots in the classical world and Judeo-Christian … Continue reading →

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The Death of Reading

Posted on July 22, 2017 by Dr. J

Long spells between posts here, I know. I’ve been out of the country twice and gone through the birth of Child #7 since the beginning of May, along with managing several summer courses, so things have been hectic. But I … Continue reading →

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Thoughts on a New Dark Age

Posted on April 16, 2017 by Dr. J

This weekend, Lew Rockwell republished a review I wrote a few months ago of Subtracting Christianity, a collection of essays by the late Joseph Sobran published by the Fitzgerald Griffin Foundation in 2015. You can read it here. I don’t think … Continue reading →

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Great Music for Advent and Christmas

Posted on December 2, 2016 by Dr. J

Forget the schlock this December. These two free playlists will get you into the real spirit of the season. First, here are some of the best songs and carols written specifically for Advent. A hyperlink to the YouTube playlist is … Continue reading →

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What Does It Mean to Be “Well-Educated”?

Posted on March 29, 2016 by Dr. J

I hope to have a Great Books Project post up in the next day or so. In the meantime, I direct your attention to a recent post over at the Imaginative Conservative website by Joseph Pearce on the topic of … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Culture, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

One More Post about the Hobby Lobby Case (and Spinal Tap)

Posted on July 1, 2014 by Dr. J

I tried. I really did. I resolved not to make a post about the Supreme Court’s decision in the Hobby Lobby case. But in the end I couldn’t resist. Don’t judge. You’ve read umpteen posts about the decision, yet you … Continue reading →

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5 Reasons Why a “Faithful Film Adaptation” of The Hobbit Would Stink

Posted on December 24, 2013 by Dr. J

[This post contains spoilers. Consider yourself warned.] I love J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit. I read it for the first time when I was six years old and have returned to it many times over the years. I still have a … Continue reading →

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Internet, Meet Cultural Illiteracy

Posted on September 22, 2013 by Dr. J

I think I can identify with Jonathan Swift to some extent now. More than two years ago, my blog post titled “The Cult of Childlessness in America” defended people who choose to have more than two children and criticized the … Continue reading →

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What Is Marriage?

Posted on July 5, 2013 by Dr. J

Here’s how I see the arguments over marriage in our society taking shape. There are two questions up for debate: What is marriage? What role, if any, ought the State to play in recognizing, sponsoring, and/or supporting marriage? To keep … Continue reading →

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Understanding the Supreme Court and DOMA

Posted on June 29, 2013 by Dr. J

Given this blog’s theme, I feel compelled to post something on the Supreme Court’s striking down of the Defense of Marriage Act earlier this week. From what I’ve read, this decision does less than what a lot of people are … Continue reading →

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