Download or read book A Dictatorship of Relativism written by Jeffrey M. Perl and published by Duke University Press. This book was released on 2007 with total page 356 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the last homily he gave before becoming Pope Benedict XVI, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger described modern life as ruled by a "dictatorship of relativism which does not recognize anything as definitive and whose ultimate goal consists solely" of satisfying "the desires of one's own ego." An eminent scholar familiar with the centuries-old debates over relativism, Ratzinger chose to oversimplify or even caricature a philosophical approach of great sophistication and antiquity. His homily depicts the relativist as someone blown about "by every wind of doctrine," whereas the relativist sticks firmly to one argument--that human knowledge is not absolute. Gathering prominent intellectuals from disciplines most relevant to the controversy--ethics, theology, political theory, anthropology, psychology, cultural studies, epistemology, philosophy of science, and classics--this special double issue of Common Knowledge contests Ratzinger's denunciation of relativism. One essay relates the arguments of Ratzinger to those of two other German scholars--the conservative political theorist Ernst Wolfgang Böckenförde and the liberal philosopher and sociologist Jürgen Habermas--since all three men assume that social order depends on the existence of doctrinal authority (divine or otherwise). The contributors here argue for an intellectual and social life free of the desire for an "infantilizing" authority. One proposes that the Christian god is a relativist who prefers limitation and ambiguity; another, initially in agreement with Ratzinger about the danger relativism poses to faith and morals, then argues that this danger is what makes relativism valuable. The issue closes with the first English translation of an extract from a book on Catholic-Jewish relations by Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini, one of the Catholic Church's most progressive figures. Contributors. David Bloor, Daniel Boyarin, Mary Baine Campbell, Lorraine Daston, Arnold I. Davidson, John Forrester, Kenneth J. Gergen, Simon Goldhill, Jeffrey F. Hamburger, Julia Kristeva, Carlo Maria Cardinal Martini, Christopher Norris, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, Richard Shusterman, Barbara Herrnstein Smith, Jeffrey Stout, Gianni Vattimo
Download or read book The Dictatorship of Relativism written by Gediminas T. Jankunas and published by Saint Pauls. This book was released on 2011 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The origin of relativism has been traced back to the famous statement of the Greek philosopher Protagoras: ôMan is the measure of all things, of those being that they are, of those not being, that they are not.ö It is Pope Benedict XVI's claim that in an unreflected, uncritical and naive way, the modern world has been ensnared into relativism. Because relativists do not accept anything as the absolute truth, Scripture and the teachings of the Catholic Church are considered contextual and therefore merely subjective in nature. This work shows how relativism was experienced by the young Joseph Ratzinger in Nazi Germany, how his world view was solidified when studying Augustine and Bonaventure, and how the Second Vatican Council, where he served as a peritus, was sensitive to this issue. His classic work on 20th century theology, Introduction to Christianity, was an attempt to overcome the rising tide of relativism as he saw it. This was further explored in the best-selling titles Truth and Tolerance and Without Roots. As Pope, he has returned to this subject time and again. The remedy he offers is profound yet simple: truth lies in Jesus Christ, the only and unique revelation of God. It is only by recognizing Jesus Christ, the Church and her liturgy, that the deleterious effects of relativism might be overcome. His is the voice which proclaims the problem to the world; his is also the voice offering ways to overcome it. This book shows us how. Book jacket.
Download or read book Absolute Relativism The New Dictatorship and What to Do about It written by Stefanick Chris and published by Catholic Answers. This book was released on 2011-05-01 with total page 59 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Welcome to the new tyranny "If it feels good, do it." "That's your opinion, and this is mine." "I don't want to impose my beliefs on others." And thus the Dictator of Relativism speaks as he has always spoken to seduce humanity into a false sense of freedom. Pope Benedict XVI, Christ's personally chosen defender of the Truth is fighting back. He recognized this in his homily on April 18, 2005, "We are building a dictatorship of relativism that does not recognize anything as definitive and whose ultimate goal consists solely of one's own ego and desires." Through a down-to-earth, easily accessible Question-and-Answer format, Stefanick's book shows: Why relativism inherently contradicts its own claims. What makes it one of the worst ideas in the history of ideas. How relativism has a direct influence on the morals and virtues of a nation. Why relativism doesn't even work "in real life." How relativism is counterproductive to the true practice of tolerance Why religion which makes claims to absolute truth is finally more tolerant than relativism. What Christianity has almost singlehandedly done to foster true tolerance in the world. How all laws legislate morality What the true meaning of "open-minded" means it's not what you think!
Download or read book Relativism and Religion written by Carlo Invernizzi Accetti and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2015-11-10 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Moral relativism is deeply troubling for those who believe that, without a set of moral absolutes, democratic societies will devolve into tyranny or totalitarianism. Engaging directly with this claim, Carlo Invernizzi Accetti traces the roots of contemporary anti-relativist fears to the antimodern rhetoric of the Catholic Church and then rescues a form of philosophical relativism for modern, pluralist societies, arguing that this viewpoint provides the firmest foundation for an allegiance to democracy. In his analyses of the relationship between religious arguments and political authority and the implications of philosophical relativism for democratic theory, Accetti makes a far-ranging contribution to contemporary debates over the revival of religion in politics and the conceptual grounds for a commitment to democracy. He presents the first comprehensive genealogy of anti-relativist discourse and reclaims for English-speaking readers the overlooked work of Hans Kelsen on the connection between relativism and democracy. By engaging with contemporary attempts to replace the religious foundation of democratic values with a neo-Kantian conception of reason, Accetti also makes a powerful case for relativism as the best basis for a civic ethos that integrates different perspectives into democratic politics.
Download or read book Christianity and the Crisis of Cultures written by Joseph Ratzinger and published by Ignatius Press. This book was released on 2009-09-03 with total page 132 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Foreword by Marcello Pera Written by Joseph Ratzinger shortly before he became Pope Benedict XVI, Christianity and the Crisis of Cultures looks at the growing conflict of cultures evident in the Western world. The West faces a deadly contradiction of its own making, he contends. Terrorism is on the rise. Technological advances of the West, employed by people who have cut themselves off from the moral wisdom of the past, threaten to abolish man (as C.S. Lewis put it)whether through genetic manipulation or physical annihilation. In short, the West is at war-with itself. Its scientific outlook has brought material progress. The Enlightenment's appeal to reason has achieved a measure of freedom. But contrary to what many people suppose, both of these accomplishments depend on Judeo-Christian foundations, including the moral worldview that created Western culture. More than anything else, argues Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI, the important contributions of the West are threatened today by an exaggerated scientific outlook and by moral relativism-what Benedict XVI calls "the dictatorship of relativism"-in the name of freedom. Christianity and the Crisis of Cultures is no mere tirade against the moral decline of the West. Razinger challenges the West to return to its roots by finding a place for God in modern culture. He argues that both Christian culture and the Enlightenment formed the West, and that both hold the keys to human life and freedom as well as to domination and destruction. Ratzinger challenges non-believer and believer alike. "Both parties," he writes, "must reflect on their own selves and be ready to accept correction." He challenges secularized, unbelieving people to open themselves to God as the ground of true rationality and freedom. He calls on believers to "make God credible in this world by means of the enlightened faith they live." Topics include: Reflections on the Cultures in Conflict Today The Significance and Limits of Today's Rationalistic Culture The Permanent Significance of the Christian Faith Why We Must Not Give Up the Fight The Law of the Jungle, the Rule of Law We Must Use Our Eyes! Faith and Everyday Life Can Agnosticism Be a Solution? The Natural Knowledge of God "Supernatural" Faith and Its Origins
Download or read book Without Roots written by Pope Benedict XVI and published by Perseus Books Group. This book was released on 2006-02-13 with total page 190 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Pope Benedict XVI and the President of the Italian Senate offer a critique of the spiritual and political crises affecting Europe, discussing human rights, morality, relativism, terrorism, and relations with the United States.
Download or read book Who Am I to Judge written by Edward Sri and published by Ignatius Press. This book was released on 2017-01-12 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Don't be so judgmental!" "Why are Christians so intolerant?" "Why can't we just coexist?" In an age in which preference has replaced morality, many people find it difficult to speak the truth, afraid of the reactions they will receive if they say something is right or wrong. Using engaging stories and personal experience, Edward Sri helps us understand the classical view of morality and equips us to engage relativism, appealing to both the head and the heart. Learn how Catholic morality is all about love, why making a judgment is not judging a person's soul, and why, in the words of Pope Francis, "relativism wounds people." Topics include: • Real Freedom, Real Love • Sharing truth with compassion • Why "I disagree" doesn't mean "I hate you"
Download or read book On Conscience written by Joseph Ratzinger and published by Ignatius Press. This book was released on 2010-11-09 with total page 92 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Prepared and co-published by the National Catholic Bioethics Center in Philadelphia, this book is a combination of two lengthy essays written by Cardinal Ratzinger and delivered in talks when he was head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Both talks deal with the importance of conscience and its exercise in particular circumstances. Ratzinger's reflections show that contemporary debates over the nature of conscience have deep historical and philosophical roots. He says that a person is bound to act in accord with his conscience, but he makes it clear that there must be reliable, proven sources for the judgment of conscience in moral issues, other than the subjective reflections of each individual. The always unique and profound insights that the new Pope Benedict XVI brings to perennial problems reminds the reader of his strong warning before the recent Papal conclave of the great dangers today of the "dictatorship of relativism."
Download or read book Light Of The World written by Peter Seewald and published by Ignatius Press. This book was released on 2010-10-29 with total page 217 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Never has a Pope, in a book-length interview, dealt so directly with such wide-ranging and controversial issues as Pope Benedict XVI does in Light of the World. Taken from a recent week-long series of interviews with veteran journalist Peter Seewald, this book tackles head-on some of the greatest issues facing the world of our time. Seewald poses such forthright questions to Pope Benedict as: What caused the clergy sexual abuse in the Catholic Church? Was there a "cover up"? Have you considered resigning? Does affirming the goodness of the human body mean a plea for "better sex"? Can there be a genuine dialogue with Islam? Should the Church rethink Catholic teaching on priestly celibacy, women priests, contraception, and same-sex relationships? Holy Communion for divorced-and-remarried Catholics? Is there a schism in the Catholic Church? Should there be a Third Vatican Council? Is there any hope for Christian unity? Is Christianity the only truth? Can the Pope really speak for Jesus Christ? How can the Pope claim to be "infallible"? Is there a "dictatorship of relativism" today? Twice before these two men held wide-ranging discussions, which became the best-selling books Salt of the Earth and God and the World. Then, Seewald's discussion partner was Joseph Ratzinger, head of the Vatican's chief doctrinal office. Now, Joseph Ratzinger is Pope Benedict XVI, the spiritual leader of the world's over one billion Catholics. Though Seewald now interviews the Pope himself, the journalist "pulls no punches", posing some of the thorniest questions any Pope has had to address. Believers and unbelievers will be fascinated to hear Benedict's thoughtful, straightforward and thought-provoking replies. This is no stern preachment or ponderous theological tract, but a lively, fast-paced, challenging, even entertaining exchange.
Download or read book Relativism and Post Truth in Contemporary Society written by Mikael Stenmark and published by Springer. This book was released on 2018-09-17 with total page 199 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book approaches post-truth and relativism in a multidisciplinary fashion. Researchers from astrophysics, philosophy, psychology, media studies, religious studies, anthropology, social epistemology and sociology discuss and analyse the impact of relativism and post-truth both within the academy and in society at large. The motivation for this multidisciplinary approach is that relativism and post-truth are multifaceted phenomena with complex histories that have played out differently in different areas of society and different academic disciplines. There is hence a multitude of ways in which to use and understand the concepts and the phenomena to which they refer, and a multitude of critiques and defenses as well. No single volume can capture the ongoing discussions in different areas in all their complexity, but the different chapters of the book can function as exemplifications of the ramifications these phenomena have had.
Download or read book Catholicism and America written by Matthew L. Lamb and published by Sapientia Press Ave Maria Univ. This book was released on 2012 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book goes behind the headlines on the Catholic Church in the United States to explore some of the principles and philosophical sources to which Popes, Bishops, Priests, Religious, and laity appeal when they challenge American culture and society on moral and social issues. Rarely do the media discuss the "dictatorship of relativism" criticized by Pope Benedict XVI, and the reasons he gives for why such relativism undermines the moral foundations of religious freedom, tolerance, and democracy. The distinguished authors in this book offer clear and compelling arguments for taking these concerns seriously. Religious liberty in the United States has enabled Catholic immigrants to build up vast numbers of schools, universities, seminaries, hospitals, clinics, orphanages, and parishes. The authors suggest the responsibility Catholics have to learn and live the resources of wisdom, morality, and holiness in the two millennial history of Catholicism in order to renew and strengthen both the Church and American culture today.
Download or read book Voltaire s Bastards written by John Ralston Saul and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2012-12-25 with total page 656 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With a new Introduction by the author, this “erudite and brilliantly readable book” (The Observer, London) expertly dissects the political, economic, and social origins of Western civilization to reveal a culture cripplingly enslaved to crude notions of rationality and expertise. With a new introduction by the author, this “erudite and brilliantly readable book” (The Observer, London) astutely dissects the political, economic and social origins of Western civilization to reveal a culture cripplingly enslaved to crude notions of rationality and expertise. The Western world is full of paradoxes. We talk endlessly of individual freedom, yet we’ve never been under more pressure to conform. Our business leaders describe themselves as capitalists, yet most are corporate employees and financial speculators. We call our governments democracies, yet few of us participate in politics. We complain about invasive government, yet our legal, educational, financial, social, cultural and legislative systems are deteriorating. All these problems, John Ralston Saul argues, are largely the result of our blind faith in the value of reason. Over the past 400 years, our “rational elites” have turned the modern West into a vast, incomprehensible, directionless machine, run by process-minded experts—“Voltaire’s bastards”—whose cult of scientific management is empty of both sense and morality. Whether in politics, art, business, the military, entertainment, science, finance, academia or journalism, these experts share the same outlook and methods. The result, Saul maintains, is a civilization of immense technological power whose ordinary citizens are increasingly excluded from the decision-making process. In this wide-ranging anatomy of modern society and its origins—whose “pages explode with insight, style and intellectual rigor” (Camille Paglia, The Washington Post)—Saul presents a shattering critique of the political, economic and cultural establishments of the West.
Download or read book Western Culture Today and Tomorrow written by Joseph Ratzinger and published by Ignatius Press. This book was released on 2019-08-05 with total page 178 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Well known for his important scholarly contributions to dogmatic theology and biblical commentary, Joseph Ratzinger has also written penetrating observations of our times. This book includes some of his keen insights about the social and political challenges confronting modern Western societies. Writing most of these chapters just before his election as pope, Ratzinger sought to remind Europeans, who at the time were crafting a new constitution, that the civilizational project we call “the West” is a cultural achievement with a history. Jerusalem, Athens, and Rome were the three foundation stones upon which Western civilization was built, he wrote. Their invaluable contributions form the basis for the Western understanding of human dignity and human rights, which spread from Europe to the United States and beyond. This book also includes, as an epilogue, a new essay by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI on clerical sex abuse, which traces the moral disorder that preys upon the young to the collapse of faith both inside and outside the Church. “The witness of Christian lives nobly lived is the beginning of reconversion (or, in many cases, conversion) of the West—and that return to the truths taught by the God of the Bible is essential if the great Western civilizational project is not to crumble because of its current, postmodern incoherence. Joseph Ratzinger understood that danger long before many others. It would be well to attend to his prescription.” —George Weigel, Distinguished Senior Fellow, Ethics and Public Policy Center, from the Foreword
Download or read book The Catholic Church and the Nation State written by Paul Christopher Manuel and published by Georgetown University Press. This book was released on 2006-08-16 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Presenting case studies from sixteen countries on five continents, The Catholic Church and the Nation-State paints a rich portrait of a complex and paradoxical institution whose political role has varied historically and geographically. In this integrated and synthetic collection of essays, outstanding scholars from the United States and abroad examine religious, diplomatic, and political actions—both admirable and regrettable—that shape our world. Kenneth R. Himes sets the context of the book by brilliantly describing the political influence of the church in the post-Vatican II era. There are many recent instances, the contributors assert, where the Church has acted as both a moral authority and a self-interested institution: in the United States it maintained unpopular moral positions on issues such as contraception and sexuality, yet at the same time it sought to cover up its own abuses; it was complicit in genocide in Rwanda but played an important role in ending the horrific civil war in Angola; and it has alternately embraced and suppressed nationalism by acting as the voice of resistance against communism in Poland, whereas in Chile it once supported opposition to Pinochet but now aligns with rightist parties. With an in-depth exploration of the five primary challenges facing the Church—theology and politics, secularization, the transition from serving as a nationalist voice of opposition, questions of justice, and accommodation to sometimes hostile civil authorities—this book will be of interest to scholars and students in religion and politics as well as Catholic Church clergy and laity. By demonstrating how national churches vary considerably in the emphasis of their teachings and in the scope and nature of their political involvement, the analyses presented in this volume engender a deeper understanding of the role of the Roman Catholic Church in the world.
Download or read book The Twilight of Atheism written by Alister McGrath and published by WaterBrook. This book was released on 2007-12-18 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this bold and provocative new book, the author of In the Beginning and The Reenchantment of Nature challenges the widely held assumption that the world is becoming more secular and demonstrates why atheism cannot provide the moral and intellectual guidance essential for coping with the complexities of modern life. Atheism is one of the most important movements in modern Western culture. For the last two hundred years, it seemed to be on the verge of eliminating religion as an outmoded and dangerous superstition. Recent years, however, have witnessed the decline of disbelief and a rise in religious devotion throughout the world. In THE TWILIGHT OF ATHEISM, the distinguished historian and theologian Alister McGrath examines what went wrong with the atheist dream and explains why religion and faith are destined to play a central role in the twenty-first century. A former atheist who is now one of Christianity’s foremost scholars, McGrath traces the history of atheism from its emergence in eighteenth-century Europe as a revolutionary worldview that offered liberation from the rigidity of traditional religion and the oppression of tyrannical monarchs, to its golden age in the first half of the twentieth century. Blending thoughtful, authoritative historical analysis with incisive portraits of such leading and influential atheists as Sigmund Freud and Richard Dawkins, McGrath exposes the flaws at the heart of atheism, and argues that the renewal of faith is a natural, inevitable, and necessary response to its failures. THE TWILIGHT OF ATHEISM will unsettle believers and nonbelievers alike. A powerful rebuttal of the philosophy that, for better and for worse, has exerted tremendous influence on Western history, it carries major implications for the future of both religion and unbelief in our society.
Download or read book Reason Faith and the Struggle for Western Civilization written by Samuel Gregg and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2019-06-25 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Gregg's book is the closet thing I've encountered in a long time to a one-volume user's manual for operating Western Civilization." —The Stream "Reason, Faith, and the Struggle for Western Civilization offers a concise intellectual history of the West through the prism of the relationship between faith and reason." —Free Beacon The genius of Western civilization is its unique synthesis of reason and faith. But today that synthesis is under attack—from the East by radical Islam (faith without reason) and from within the West itself by aggressive secularism (reason without faith). The stakes are incalculably high. The naïve and increasingly common assumption that reason and faith are incompatible is simply at odds with the facts of history. The revelation in the Hebrew Scriptures of a reasonable Creator imbued Judaism and Christianity with a conviction that the world is intelligible, leading to the flowering of reason and the invention of science in the West. It was no accident that the Enlightenment took place in the culture formed by the Jewish and Christian faiths. We can all see that faith without reason is benighted at best, fanatical and violent at worst. But too many forget that reason, stripped of faith, is subject to its own pathologies. A supposedly autonomous reason easily sinks into fanaticism, stifling dissent as bigoted and irrational and devouring the humane civilization fostered by the integration of reason and faith. The blood-soaked history of the twentieth century attests to the totalitarian forces unleashed by corrupted reason. But Samuel Gregg does more than lament the intellectual and spiritual ruin caused by the divorce of reason and faith. He shows that each of these foundational principles corrects the other’s excesses and enhances our comprehension of the truth in a continuous renewal of civilization. By recovering this balance, we can avoid a suicidal winner-take-all conflict between reason and faith and a future that will respect neither.
Download or read book The Dictator Pope written by Marcantonio Colonna and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2018-04-23 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Marcantonio Colonna's The Dictator Pope has rocked Rome and the entire Catholic Church with its portrait of an authoritarian, manipulative, and politically partisan pontiff. Occupying a privileged perch in Rome during the tumultuous first years of Francis’s pontificate, Colonna was privy to the shock, dismay, and even panic that the reckless new pope engendered in the Church’s most loyal and judicious leaders. The Dictator Pope discloses that Father Mario Bergoglio (the future Pope Francis) was so unsuited for ecclesiastical leadership that the head of his own Jesuit order tried to prevent his appointment as a bishop in Argentina. Behind the benign smile of the "people's pope" Colonna reveals a ruthless autocrat aggressively asserting the powers of the papacy in pursuit of a radical agenda.
