Rawls’s liberal integralism

John Rawls’s political liberalism is no more neutral and no less religiously particular than a comprehensively Catholic society.  I elaborate in “Political Liberalism and Rawlsian Religion,” my latest article at Postliberal Order.

Trump has put social conservatives in a dilemma

Let’s begin with the obvious.  No social conservative could possibly justify voting for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz.  They are pro-abortion extremists, as Ryan Anderson shows in an article on Harris at First Things and Dan McLaughlin shows in an article on Walz at National Review.  Their records on other matters of concern to social conservatives are no better.  It goes without saying that they are absolutely beyond the pale. 

Despite his recent betrayal of social conservatives, Donald Trump remains less bad on these issues.  Indeed, his appointments to the Supreme Court made possible the overturning of Roe v. Wade.  It is understandable that many social conservatives have concluded that, his faults notwithstanding, they must vote for him in order to prevent a Harris/Walz victory.  The argument is a serious one.  But the matter is not as straightforward as they suppose, because the problem is not merely that Trump will no longer do anything to advance the pro-life cause.  It is that his victory would likely do positive harm, indeed grave and lasting damage, to the pro-life cause and to social conservatism in general. 

Damnation roundup

The reality of hell is the clear and infallible teaching of scripture and tradition.  I would argue that even purely philosophical argumentation can establish that the soul that is in a state of rebellion against God at death will remain that way forever.  The universalist heresy denies these truths, and insists that all will be saved.  It has in recent years seen a remarkable rise in popularity.  In Catholic circles, Balthasar’s view that there is at least a reasonable hope that all human beings will be saved has also gained currency.

These are extremely grave delusions which, by fostering complacency, are sure to add to the number of the damned.  In reality, there is no reasonable hope whatsoever that all are saved.  The relevant philosophical and theological considerations make this conclusion unavoidable.  I have addressed these issues in some depth in many articles over the years, and it seemed to me a good idea to collect them in one place for readers who might find that useful.