In this episode, the Pugsters look at the idea of courtesy and manners through the lens of medieval courtesy books. These were instructions to children on how to behave derived from chivalry and from instructions to novices in monasteries. Their goal was to inculcate virtue in children before they had a chance to develop vices. The guys discuss how manners reflect how we think about other people and note that William Wilberforce’s decades-long campaign to abolish the slave trade in England was accompanied by a “reformation of manners” to change how people thought about each other as a necessary preliminary to abolition. The need to recover courtesy in our day is obvious, especially given online interactions. Article Referenced: https://theimaginativeconservative.org/2021/08/time-return-medieval-courtesy-books-john-horvat.html?fbclid=IwAR0WKjJ3ZOFdDTYoSOuwnNuEF4RIAZRUfAGga4hq9z3OQzlfvCJCnGro710

In today’s show Tom introduces the topic: how contemporary secular and nihilistic thinking owes its form to material deviations from the classical Christian understanding of God and final things. Once set in play, such altered understandings about God and final things led to the wide host of competing secular and nihilistic views about the end game of our actions and lives. Glenn and Chris bring into the talk angles and insights which show the many ways such secular and nihilistic thinking creeps into the church.

Is writing objective history impossible? Many today believe so. To these folks everything is "text,” meaning something we can interpret however we please, the implication being facts must be interpreted, and since we're the only interpreters "history" is nothing more than one person, or group's tendentious interpretation of things. (You have your interpretation and I have mine, in other words, and who's to say who is right?) This presupposes that facts don't have an author. But if there is a creator, and if he makes his purposes known, then history truly is possible, and is worth the effort. Today we explore these ideas in relation to the Book of Acts (among other things). There we get a glimpse of the end of history and what it all is leading to. Join the Pugsters as they discuss God and history in Acts and the academy.

Listen in for a quick question and answer session following yesterday's episode on Romanticism.

In this semi-live episode, the Pugsters return to Romanticism, a topic we’ve touched on in a number of other Pugcasts. After a quick explanation of Romanticism as a response to cultural stress, the guys discuss some of the pathologies that have entered Western society as a result of the Romantic movement, including Expressive Individualism. But it turns out that not everything about Romanticism was a negative. Both C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien were influenced by a positive version of Romanticism that rejected elements of modernity in favor of a more traditionalist vision of society.

On today’s show the guys unpack aspects of contemporary culture and its move away from ontological truth. Language, once it’s detached from referencing the real, becomes a field of competing power plays and conflict. How are Christians to enact truthfulness, avoid falsehood in their discernment of truth, and speak the truth as it become increasingly costly to do so? The Pugsters consider such questions and various ways forward.

Today the Pugsters are joined by Dr. Luke Sheahan, President of The Academy of Philosophy and Letters, and Editor of The University Bookman. Among other things, Luke is an authority on the intellectual history of conservatism in the United States. The conversation includes a discussion of some of the more important luminaries in American Conservatism, the nature of "freedom of association" and why traditionalist conservatives from a range of theological traditions often have more in common with each other than with people in their own communions. Why Associations Matter: The Case for First Amendment Pluralism Amazon;  Kansas Academy of Philosophy and Letters (APL) www.philosophyandletters.org  Conference in College Park, MD, June 2-4 Conference Schedule Register for the Conference (Put C.R. Wiley or Luke Sheahan as sponsor) The University Bookman https://kirkcenter.org/bookman/ Russell Kirk The Conservative Mind (1953) Robert Nisbet The Quest for Community (1953) Edmund Burke Robert P. George, Princeton University History of the Postwar Conservative Movement

In this episode, Moira Greyland Peat and Rachel Fulton Brown return for the first time together as Pugcast guests to explore the importance of story and imaginative fiction as a vehicle for communicating truth in ways that can transcend nonfiction. Along the way, Moira, Rachel, and the Pugsters talk about what makes stories fail, the impact of substituting ideology for truth in pop culture, the relevance of these ideas to music, and a host of related ideas. Moria’s Book: https://www.amazon.com/Last-Closet-Dark-Side-Avalon-ebook/dp/B0787XLK4H?fbclid=IwAR2Q0CTcN3yBO_dtI682Pk8TsycvpXYAgBgLWX_mpp4Njk--gcvC3JyxBGs Moria’s Music: https://soundcloud.com/moira-greyland?fbclid=IwAR3zoziXcVJZBQvR7D-Buolej162FLLBO_RMWVhjCLhaktXnYjVFMroetlE Rachel’s Poetry: https://www.dragoncommonroom.com/?fbclid=IwAR0NjL42V6WBsw-6fquyvUpeAcgO5dkRwOfPe_GXl902TsyY3gL3pxrsA10

Today the Pugsters are happy to welcome Jason Baxter on the show! Jason is the author of a new book on C. S. Lewis entitled: The Medieval Mind of C. S. Lewis: How Great Books Shaped a Great Mind. Have you ever wondered why no one seems to come close to C. S. Lewis when it comes to apologetics and fiction (except J. R. R. Tolkien, of course). Jason Baxter knows why--C. S. Lewis had a medieval mind and all of his admirers have think like modern people. So, what does it mean to think like a Medieval man? Well, for one thing, you need to read old books, really old books. But that's just a start. Listen in and find out what else is involved. We hope you like the show! Find more from Jason at jasonmbaxter.com

Ever feel like an upgraded body would be good to have? You're not alone, and there are people who are ready to help--for a price. How about an extra 10 years of life, wouldn't that be nice? Why stop there? Why not an extra 20, or 100, or 10,000? Believe it or not, there are people who think that mortality is an engineering problem. Now here's another wrinkle, there are theologians that agree. What should we think about all of this? Today the Pugsters take up the topic of H+ (or Humanity 2.0).