The Josias Podcast

The encyclicals Deus caritas est and Spe salvi raise two opposite objections against Christianity:  Christian love seems too altruistic, opposed to one’s own happiness; while  Christian hope seems too egoistic, opposed to proper concern for temporal society. The editors discuss these objections with New Testament scholar John Kincaid. They argue that a true understanding of the New Testament demands a full understanding of the common good (showing that love is neither altruism nor egoism, but communion in the good), and a deep understanding of the relation of the temporal and the eternal (showing that hope for  eternal happiness and peace does not make us indifferent to the temporal happiness and peace, which are a participated likeness of the eternal). Integralism provides precisely the account of the common good, and of the relation of temporal and eternal that is necessary. Bibliography Pope Benedict XVI, Deus caritas est, 2005.Pope Benedict XVI, Spe salvi , 2007.Brant Pitre, Michael P. Barber, and John A. Kincaid, Paul, a New Covenant Jew: Rethinking Pauline Theology, 2019.John Barclay, Paul and the Gift, 2015.Henri de Lubac, Catholicism: Christ and the Common Destiny of Man, 1947/1988.Charles de Koninck, “In Defence of Saint Thomas: A Reply to Father Eschmann’s Attack on the Primacy of the Common Good,” in: Laval théologique et philosophique (1945).Edmund Waldstein, O.Cist., Integralism: The Breadth and Depth of Catholic Social Teaching (Book Proposal, 2019). Music: “Là ci darem la mano,” from W.A. Mozart’s Don Giovanni, sung by Barbara Bonney and Thomas Hampson, accompanied by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra under the direction of Nikolaus Harnoncourt. Header Image: Max Slevogt, Don Giovannis Be­geg­nung mit dem steinernen Gast, 1906. If you have questions or comments, please send them to editors(at)thejosias.com. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Many thanks to our generous supporters on Patreon, who enable us to pay for podcast hosting. If you have not yet joined them, please do so. You can set up a one-time or recurring donation in any amount. Even $1 a month would be splendid.

We live in a society in which the few live in excess, while the many live in miserable and wretched conditions. We live in a society in which the poor are defenseless against the inhumanity of employers and the unbridled greed of competitors. We live in a society in which these evils are compounded by a devouring usury practiced by avaricious and grasping men. We live in a society in which innocent children are murdered in abortion clinics. We live in a society in which the sin of Sodom is paraded with open pride and enjoys the favor of the laws. We live in a society in which depravity exults; science is impudent; liberty, dissolute. We live in a society in which the holiness of the sacred is despised; sound doctrine is perverted; and errors of all kinds spread boldly. We live in a society in which the divine authority of the Church is opposed and her rights shorn off. We live in a society in which by institutions and by the example of teachers, the minds of the youth are corrupted. We live in a society… We live in a society? Do we actually live in a society? What sense does it make to call the clownish chaos of our lamentable times a “society”? The editors are joined by P.J. Smith of southern Indiana to discuss these and related questions. Bibliography and Filmography Henri Grenier, Moral Philosophy, §§ 1032-1036.Petrus Hispanus, “Notes on Right and Law,” The Josias, 2017.Pope Leo XIII, Rerum Novarum, 1891.Pierre Manent, “Modern Democracy as a System of Separations,” Journal of Democracy 14.1 (2003).Todd Phillips (director), Joker, 2019.Snowpire, JOKER – Starring George Costanza from Seinfeld, 2019. Music: “Vesti la Giubba” from Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci, sung by Luciano Pavarotti. Header Image: Joaquin Phoenix in Joker (2019) If you have questions or comments, please send them to editors(at)thejosias.com. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Many thanks to our generous supporters on Patreon, who enable us to pay for podcast hosting. If you have not yet joined them, please do so. You can set up a one-time or recurring donation in any amount. Even $1 a month would be splendid.

Continuing a series of reflections on important 20th century critiques of modernity and liberalism that has included episodes on Alasdair MacIntyre’s After Virtue and Leo Strauss’s Natural Right and History, the editors are joined again by Gabriel Sanchez to discuss Eric Voegelin’s The New Science of Politics. They discuss Voegelin’s critique of positivism, the problem of representation, and the thesis that modernity is “gnostic”. Bibliography Eric Voegelin, The New Science of Politics.Gabriel S. Sanchez, “MacIntyre, Strauss, and Some Voegelin.” Music: Also sprach Zarathustra, by Richard Strauss. Header Image: Photograph of a Tree in the Mist, by Pater Edmund If you have questions or comments, please send them to editors(at)thejosias.com. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Many thanks to our generous supporters on Patreon, who enable us to pay for podcast hosting. If you have not yet joined them, please do so. You can set up a one-time or recurring donation in any amount. Even $1 a month would be splendid.

Justice, according to St. Thomas, is the perpetual and constant will to render each one his right. Distributive justice, commutative justice, potential parts, quasi-integral parts, debt, cannibalism—in this episode, the editors cover it all. Bibliography Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, IIa IIae qq. 58, 61, 79, 80Plato, The Republic, especially Book IAristotle, Nichomachean EthicsCarl Hoffman, Savage Harvest: A Tale of Cannibals, Colonialism, and Michael Rockefeller’s Tragic Quest for Primitive ArtDavid Graeber, Debt: The First 5000 YearsThe Paraphasic, “Notes on the Internet as a Social Space“The Paraphasic, “A Rumination on the Foundation of Civil Society“ Music: “An die Musik“, by Franz Schubert, performed by Matthias Goerne (baritone) and Helmut Deutsch (piano). Header Image: Circles in a Circle (1923), by Wassily Kandinsky (detail). If you have questions or comments, please send them to editors(at)thejosias.com. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Many thanks to our generous supporters on Patreon, who enable us to pay for podcast hosting. If you have not yet joined them, please do so. You can set up a one-time or recurring donation in any amount. Even $1 a month would be splendid.

The Josias Editors discuss punishment and the good of order in a teleological universe. Bibliography Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, II-II Q. 60; II-II Q 64, A 2; II-II Q. 108.Plato, Gorgias. Music: “Bin ich nun frei Wirklich frei,” Das Rheingold, Richard Wagner. Vienna Philharmonic, George Solti, Gustav Neidlinger as Alberich. Header Image: Alberich, by Arthur Rackham. If you have questions or comments, please send them to editors(at)thejosias.com. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Many thanks to our generous supporters on Patreon, who enable us to pay for podcast hosting. If you have not yet joined them, please do so. You can set up a one-time or recurring donation in any amount. Even $1 a month would be splendid.

Does natural law demand a world government? Bibliography Pope Pius XI, Ubi Arcano, 1922.Henri Grenier, World Government is Required by Natural Law, The Josias, 2015.Edmund Waldstein, O.Cist., Secularized Fraternity or Solidarity and the Failure of the European Union, Sancrucensis, 2016.Idem, French Nationalism, The Karlskirche, the Empire, and the Meaning of Europe, Sancrucensis, 2016.Idem, Empire I: the Philosophical Poet, Sancrucensis, 2012.Idem, Empire II: Herodotus, Aristotle and Jokes, Sancrucensis, 2012.Idem, Empire III: Gustavo Dudamel at the Spanish Riding School; or Virgil and the Horses, Sancrucensis, 2012.Rafael de Arízaga, Sovereignty and the Supreme Power, Pax in Bello, 2019. Music: Johannes Brahms, Variations on a Theme by Haydn, Berlin Philharmonic, Gustavo Dudamel. Header Image: The Spanish Riding School in Vienna. If you have questions or comments, please send them to editors(at)thejosias.com. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Many thanks to our generous supporters on Patreon, who enable us to pay for podcast hosting. If you have not yet joined them, please do so. You can set up a one-time or recurring donation in any amount. Even $1 a month would be splendid.

The editors are joined by special guest Daniel to discuss the Resurrection of Christ. Along the way they explore what it means for Christ to be New Adam, the necessity and fittingness of the Resurrection, and the meaning of the Resurrection both as the cause of the order of human society and the principle of the life to come. A very blessed Easter Season to all our readers and listeners! Bibliography The Gospel according to St. Mark, chapter 16The Gospel according to St. John, chapters 20-21The Gospel according to St. Luke, chapter 3:23-38The Apocalypse of St. John, chapter 21Genesis, chapters 27-45The Epistle of St. Paul to the Romans (all of it)The First Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians, chapter 15St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, IIIa qq.53-56Pope Benedict XVI, Spe Salvi Music: Heinrich Ingaz Franz von Biber, Missa Salisburgensis, performed by Vaclav Luks with Collegium 1704 Header Image:Matthias Grünewald, The Ressurection of Christ (detail from the Isenheim Altarpiece). If you have questions or comments, please send them to editors(at)thejosias.com. We’d love the feedback. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Many thanks to our generous supporters on Patreon, who enable us to pay for podcast hosting. If you have not yet joined them, please do so. You can set up a one-time or recurring donation in any amount. Even $1 a month would be splendid.

Dive into a captivating conversation as hosts unpack integralism and its philosophical roots. They explore Derrida's post-structuralism, revealing tensions in thought and power dynamics. The dialogue weaves through Nietzsche's insights, musical authenticity in Bach interpretations, and even the quirks of internet meme culture. An engaging look at language's role in shaping reality enriches the discussion, while the evolution of scientific thought raises moral dilemmas in modern society. Get ready for a mind-bending ride through complex ideas!

After a long hiatus, familiar voices dive into the essence of courage and fortitude. The discussion traverses the cowardice of Dr. Proudie and the softness of modern clerics. They explore bravery's philosophical roots and the balance between emotion and reason, referencing Aquinas and Aristotle. Anger's dual role in inciting change versus personal strife is unpacked. Listeners are treated to insights on fortitude's connection to spiritual growth and the rich interplay of art, virtue, and perseverance throughout history.

Gabriel Sanchez, a prominent contributor and critic of contemporary philosophy, engages in a thought-provoking discussion about Leo Strauss. They delve into Strauss's defense of natural rights against historicism and positivism. The conversation highlights the tensions between societal ideals and universal standards of justice. Additionally, they explore how modern scientific thought often falls short, advocating for a return to classical wisdom. Sanchez also contrasts Strauss's views with those of thinkers like Alasdair MacIntyre, emphasizing the relevance of classical political philosophy.