In my latest National Post column I argue that the lethal yet ludicrous overconfidence of Hamas and its Canadian supporters is rooted in their reading of the Qu’ran.
“We say we must ‘forgive ourselves’ - but no one can really forgive himself, because he is not the one who is principally concerned by his wrongdoing. Instead one should confess wrong and seek forgiveness from that person – and from God.”
J. Budziszewski “The Underground Thomist” May 8, 2023 [https://www.undergroundthomist.org/things-i-had-to-learn]
In my latest Epoch Times column I say chronic overuse of pharmaceuticals, including on kids, proves that our modern materialistic approach to human fulfilment has failed not that it has succeeded.
“the ardent haste of the Midnight People, who drink and dance and rattle and are ever afraid to be silent...”
Sinclair Lewis Babbitt
“Sins are not ‘mistakes.’ Mistakes are things we didn’t mean to do.”
J. Budziszewski “The Underground Thomist” May 8, 2023 [https://www.undergroundthomist.org/things-i-had-to-learn]
“Love without truth is an illusion. To spare someone the truth is not worth the name of love. If he is hurting himself, telling him so is not judgment but compassion; not telling him is not compassion but indifference.”
J. Budziszewski “The Underground Thomist” May 8, 2023 [https://www.undergroundthomist.org/things-i-had-to-learn]
“It bears repeating over and over that, when we talk about freedom, we are not talking about the right to do whatever we want, when we want, where we want, how we want, with whomever we want. And that's not the freedom that the original author of our national anthem, writing in 1880, would have had in mind either. Unfortunately, this is what many in our culture understand freedom to mean. But the ‘I get to do whatever I want’ type of freedom is no freedom at all, but rather slavery to our passions. (John 8:34-36 Rom. 6, 1 Peter 2:16 2 Peter 2:19). It describes radical personal autonomy, which isn't at all what the Bible describes. Look at the 10 commandments, for example. Does God say, ‘I am the LORD your God, who set you free from slavery. Now live as you please! Let every man do as he sees fit!’ Certainly not. If God said that, the nation of Israel would descend into chaos. But neither does God say, ‘I am the LORD your God, who set you free from slavery. Now, live under the crushing weight and drudgery of my law.’ No, God has set us free, and then He gives us the code by which freed people can live together and flourish!”
André Schutten and Michael Wagner, A Christian Citizenship Guide 2nd edition
“Refusing to repent is equivalent to refusing to be forgiven.”
J. Budziszewski “The Underground Thomist” May 8, 2023 [https://www.undergroundthomist.org/things-i-had-to-learn]