Patrick T. Brown

A Less Elegant Moral Universe for a Less Civilized Age May 7, 2014 Originally posted as part of  Humane Pursuits symposium  comparing the moral universes of Star Wars and The Lord of the Rings. “Any entity – no matter how many tentacles it has – has a soul” -  Br. Guy J. Consolmagno, SJ , Research Astronomer, Vatican Observatory  No one who grew up teaching themselves Tengwar (Elvish writing, for the cultural Philistines out there) from the appendices of “The Return of the King” - and I know I’m not the only one - could ever deny the power of J.R.R. Tolkien’s rich imagination, evocative prose, and tales of heroism. The world of The Lord of the Rings offers the reader an immersive experience in a imagined universe clearly grounded in the medieval world of which Tolkien was an esteemed scholar. In an Aristotelian sense, characters have a telos they are called to - Aragorn, the rightful heir of Gondor; Samwise Gamgee, fulfilling his...

A globe-trotting, wide-ranging exploration of the cultural and societal trends weakening families and threatening children, “Irreplaceable” argues for the importance of sparking social change from the individual level. The film, which hits theaters nationwide on Tuesday, May 6, is a production of the Colorado-based Christian non-profit Focus on the Family, which devoted resources to produce a feature-length documentary that examines what “family” means from a faith-centered perspective. Tim Sisarich, executive director of Focus on the Family New Zealand, uses his exploration of his father’s moral failings and his desire to set a solid example for his children as a narrative device for an Indiana Jones-like adventure, interviewing a veritable Who’s Who of experts on marriage and the family in locales from Greece to New York City to Seattle.