Making Sense of Society

Catholic Essays on the Human Person, the Social Order, Government and Faith

by Jeffrey A. Mirus Ph.D.

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Book Description

Collected essays from 2007 through 2012 on such things as the purpose of government, including its size and scope; the interaction among culture, social life, politics and religion; the role of the Church in the social order; the relationship between what are commonly called the “life” issues and the “social” issues; the somewhat odd set of social prejudices which characterize the modern secular West; the threat of Statism; the principles of Catholic social teaching, such as subsidiarity, solidarity and the universal destination of goods; the role of natural law; and an analysis of complex specific issues such as immigration, pro-life strategy, and moral voting. Jeffrey A. Mirus is the founder of Trinity Communications and CatholicCulture.org, as well as a co-founder of Christendom College. He has been a Catholic apologist and commentator on Catholic affairs for over forty years.

Table of Contents

  • Introduction
  • The High Cost of Political Civility
  • Politics 101: Belonging to Nature's God
  • Secularism, Acculturation and Creeping Totalitarianism
  • Now and Tomorrow: The Universal Destination of Goods
  • God and Mammon: Catholic Support for Abortion
  • The Bishops, Justice, Health Care and Social Change
  • A Simple Guide to Faith, Culture and Public Life
  • Splitting social and life issues? Can't do it.
  • Eliminating Left and Right: An Economic First Step
  • Family Size, Social Development, Selfishness and Love
  • Society and Marriage: Quid pro Quo
  • The First Principle of Catholic Social Concern
  • The Importance of Community
  • Surprised by Subsidiarity
  • Immigration Reform
  • The Corrosive Society
  • A Catholic Attitude toward Government
  • Virtue: A Democratic Problem
  • When Bishops Look Too Often to the State
  • Politics 101: Principles First
  • Subsidiarity and Solidarity are Inseparable
  • Socio-Economics from the Outside
  • Get Ready to Pay Twice if You Want Change
  • Budgetary Reform: Opportunity Knocks
  • The Question of Government Size and Scope
  • What is the Purpose of Government?
  • Government, Natural Law, and the Modern State
  • Toward a Realistic View of Society
  • The Immigration Paradox: Blindness is Forbidden
  • The Sovereignty Myth: On the Limits of Political Authority
  • Immigration: The Contested Principle
  • Catholic Action for Social Change
  • Democracies: What They Don’t Do Well
  • US Defense Spending and Cultural Imperialism
  • War of the Drones
  • Governing Politics
  • Conflating Politics and Charity: A Mistake We All Make?
  • Intermediary Institutions Represent, Preserve and Shape a Robust Culture
  • Practical Economics: How Things Work, Why There is Room for Morality, Where to Go from Here
  • In the Face of the State: The Church Too Is a Res Publica, a Public Thing
  • Why Religion and the Church Are the Ultimate Public Things
  • The Dangers of Voting Your Heart: An Intrinsically Moral Guide
  • How Much Does Politics Matter?
  • Government and the Limits of Human Law
  • Coercion vs. Tolerance: The Real Crisis in Public Life
  • New Rules of Engagement: Christ instead of the Modern State
  • The End of Pro-Life Politics
  • To Emphasize Politics or Not: The Sequel
  • The Natural Law Is Not Enough