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“Why do so many intelligent Westerners despise Western culture and values?”
BY Father Owen Kearns
Publisher
June 17-23, 2007 Issue |
Posted 6/12/07 at 8:00 AM
“Why do so
many intelligent Westerners despise Western culture and values?”
Legionary Father Cliff Ermatinger
asks that question in a book recently published by our sister company Circle
Press.
The book is called Common
Nonsense: 25 Fallacies about Life, and it is a long answer to that
question.
More correctly, it’s a book whose
series of brief chapters make the case that Western culture can be loved.
Anyone who has encountered philosophy
in their Catholic education will find this book an excellent refresher course.
It equips readers to take on the fallacies and follies of modern thinking.
I find the best way to recommend the
book is to list its chapter titles. “Fallacy No. 1: You can never be sure.”
“Fallacy No. 2: There is no truth.” “Fallacy No. 4: Physical-experiential
reality is the only reality.”
In addition to these foundational
questions, the book gets very specific, too: “Fallacy No. 21: It doesn’t matter
if two consenting adults are married or not; what counts is their sincerity.”
“Fallacy No. 22: The traditional family structure is arbitrary. Actually, there
are many other valid ways of organizing human relationships.”
The book also answers the question
we started out with.
“Why do intelligent Westerners
despise Western culture and values? I have the impression that the reason is
often a healthy sense of guilt for the objective personal sins of the
individuals themselves, who — instead of changing their own ways — hope to find
respite and reconciliation with themselves if they can just identify sinners
even worse than they are. The Catholic Church stands as a beacon of light for
all people, but not all desire to expose their actions to the light.”
Well said, Father Cliff!
To order Common Nonsense: CirclePressUSA.com
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