R. R. Reno

Recently, Kenneth Howell, an adjunct professor who worked for Newman Center at the University of Illinois in Champaign/Urbana, was told by his department chair that he could no longer teach there. His offense: explaining and clarifying the Catholic moral teaching on homosexuality while teaching a class on Catholicism. A couple of students complained to the department chair with the usual charge: his moral reasoning is hate speech that creates a hostile environment for gays and lesbians… . Continue Reading »

Former Senator Bill Armstrong is now president of Colorado Christian College, and he’s been reading the new regulations coming out of the Department of Education. He’s worried that these new regulations, designed to ensure that the federal money flowing into higher education is properly . . . . Continue Reading »

I don’t think of myself as a populist who likes to bash the rich, but this story from the Guardian that a friend sent along offers an irresistible target. Sir Angus Grossart, a wealthy banker, said of Sir Fred Goodwin, another wealthy banker and former head of the Royal Bank of Scotland, that . . . . Continue Reading »

The true Church of Christ teaches the gospel. The Bible is the sacred and canonical witness to the gospel. Therefore, the teachings of the Church accord with the teachings of the Bible. This simple syllogism provides the rationale for theological exegesis. And not just the rationale, but also the . . . . Continue Reading »

The International Journal of Obesity doesn’t sound like exciting nightime reading. But ever vigilant, the people over at ARTnews saw an interesting article. Analysis recently published in a study by Brain and Craig Wasnik shows the the problems of portion control aren’t new. They . . . . Continue Reading »

After writing about a weird swerve in a New York Times article that was determined to revive old canards about the Catholic Church vs. True Science and Reason, readers chimed in with helpful background about Galileo. As has been the case since I met him in 1984, David Yeago’s razor sharp mind . . . . Continue Reading »

For a long time as a young teacher, I believed the danger of prostituting their minds by believing falsehoods was the preeminent, or even singular, intellectual danger my students faced. So I challenged them and tried to teach them always to be self-critical, questioning, skeptical. What are your assumptions? How can you defend your position? Where’s your evidence? Why do you believe that? … Continue Reading »

Last week the New York Times carried one of those slow news, feel good, summertime stories . The recently renovated museum of the history of science in Florence was christened the Galileo Museum, honoring one of the most famous scientists of the early modern era. Simple story, it would seem. But . . . . Continue Reading »

Yesterday I posted some thoughts about Byron Williams, a wannabe Right Wing revolutionary, pointing out that a false rhetorical urgency in political discourse is likely to contribute to the unbalanced thoughts of people like Williams. I want to clarify the obvious. In no way should we pin the blame . . . . Continue Reading »

Earlier this week, Byron Williams headed out with his private arsenal. (See the San Francisco Chronicle article) Stopped by police for speeding, a gunbattle ensued. Now, as initial police reports reveal, “His intention was to start a revolution by traveling to San Francisco and killing . . . . Continue Reading »