Brandon Vogt's Blog, page 28

Get your FREE Catholic audiobook!

Over on my Resources page I highlight several tools I use each day. One of my favorites is Audible.

Audible is a main reason I’m able to read so many books each year. The app, which works on almost any smartphone or tablet, lets you listen to audiobooks while you’re driving, exercising, or working around the house. Audible uses professional narrators so the quality is extremely high, the selection of books is amazing, and the pricing is very reasonable.

Recently, Audible hooked me up with a special code to give my readers a FREE audiobook of their choice!

 



 

Click that image above and you’ll get a FREE audiobook of your choice when you sign-up for a 30-day trial. After the trial, if you liked your audiobook, you can continue with the basic membership at $14.95 per month (that’s cheaper than a new hardcover book, and way cheaper than a book on CD.) The basic plan gives you one audiobook download per month, and it’s the one I use.

(Note: If you’re not pleased with Audible, you can cancel the membership at any time. You won’t be charged anything if you cancel during the trial period and you’ll still keep any books you’ve downloaded before canceling. But if you’re like me, once you see how easy and convenient it is to listen to audiobooks, you’ll probably want more.)

Audible’s library has over 150,000 titles to choose from, including several great Catholic books. When you download your FREE audiobook, you might consider some of these:

On Heaven and Earth: Pope Francis on Faith, Family, and the Church in the Twenty-First Century  by Pope Francis
The Church of Mercy: A Vision for the Church  by Pope Francis
Jesus of Nazareth by Pope Benedict XVI
Jesus of Nazareth: The Infancy Narratives by Pope Benedict XVI
Rise, Let Us Be On Our Way by John Paul II
Witness to Hope: The Biography of Pope John Paul II  by George Weigel
The End and the Beginning: Pope John Paul II – The Victory of Freedom, the Last Years, the Legacy  by George Weigel
Evangelical Catholicism: Deep Reform in the 21st-Century Church by George Weigel
Catholicism: A Journey to the Heart of the Faith by Fr. Robert Barron
Reasons to Believe: How to Understand, Defend, and Explain the Catholic Faith  by Scott Hahn
Angels and Saints: A Biblical Guide to Friendship with God’s Holy Ones  by Scott Hahn
Signs of Life: 40 Catholic Customs and Their Biblical Roots by Scott Hahn
A Father Who Keeps His Promises: God’s Covenant Love in Scripture by Scott Hahn
Consuming the Word: The New Testament and the Eucharist in the Early Church by Scott Hahn
The Lamb’s Supper: The Mass as Heaven on Earth by Scott Hahn
Letter and Spirit: From Written Text to Living Word in the Liturgy by Scott Hahn
Ordinary Work, Extraordinary Grace: My Spiritual Journey in Opus Dei by Scott Hahn
First Comes Love: Finding Your Family in the Church and the Trinity by Scott Hahn
Swear to God: The Promise and Power of the Sacraments by Scott Hahn
Jesus the Bridegroom: The Greatest Love Story Ever Told by Brant Pitre
The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything: A Spirituality for Real Life  by Fr. James Martin
Jesus: A Pilgrimage by Fr. James Martin
My Life With the Saints by Fr. James Martin
Between Heaven and Mirth: Why Joy, Humor, and Laughter Are at the Heart of the Spiritual Life by Fr. James Martin
How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization by Thomas Woods
The Sinner’s Guide to Natural Family Planning by Simcha Fisher
Blessed are the Bored in Spirit by Mark Hart
The Mind That Is Catholic: Philosophical and Political Essays by Fr. James Schall
Envoy for Christ: 25 Years as a Catholic Apologist  by Patrick Madrid
Good News About Sex and Marriage: Answers to Your Honest Questions about Catholic Teaching  by Christopher West
The Pope & The CEO: John Paul II’s Leadership Lessons to a Young Swiss Guard  by Andreas Widmer
The Pope Who Quit: A True Medieval Tale of Mystery, Death and Salvation  by Jon Sweeney
The Life You Save May Be Your Own: An American Pilgrimage by Paul Elie
The Handbook for Catholic Moms: Nurturing Your Heart, Mind, Body, and Soul  by Lisa Hendey
The Catholics Next Door: Adventures in Imperfect Living  by Greg and Jeniffer Willits
The Vatican Diaries: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Power, Personalities, and Politics at the Heart of the Catholic Church  by John Thavis
The Confessions by St. Augustine
The City of God by St. Augustine
On Christian Doctrine  by St. Augustine
Faith and Reason: The Philosophy of Religion by Peter Kreeft
The Philosophy of Thomas Aquinas by Peter Kreeft
The Platonic Tradition by Peter Kreeft
Ethics: A History of Moral Thought by Peter Kreeft
United States Catholic Catechism for Adults by USCCB

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Answering the Best Arguments for Same-Sex Marriage

Last week I was excited to learn that two articles I wrote together earned a First Place award for Best Coverage of Marriage at the annual Catholic Press Association conference. Woohoo!

I completed them last January as part of a special section on “same-sex marriage” for the Our Sunday Visitor Newsweekly.

The first article responded to the ten most common arguments for “same-sex marriage.” You’ve likely heard many of these from friends, family members, co-workers, and commenters around the Internet. The arguments I cover include:

 

Marriage has evolved throughout history, so it can change again.
“Same-sex marriage” is primarily about equality.
Everyone has the right to marry whomever he or she loves.
“Same-sex marriage” won’t affect you, so what’s the big deal?
“Same-sex marriage” will not lead to other redefinitions.
If same-sex couples can’t marry because they can’t reproduce, why can infertile couples marry?
Children will not be affected since there is no difference between same-sex parents and opposite-sex parents.
Opposition to same-sex marriage is based on bigotry, homophobia, and religious hatred.
The struggle for “same-sex marriage” is just like the civil rights movement of the 1960s.
“Same-sex marriage is inevitable,” so we should “stand on the right side of history.”

 

It’s important to note that the article concerns civil marriage—marriage as defined and promoted by the state. It doesn’t deal with the Church’s sacramental understanding, although the two often overlap. Second, the responses to the arguments are emphatically nonreligious. They don’t depend on any sacred text or divine revelation. They’re based on reason, philosophy, biology and history. Third, the article only refutes arguments in favor of “same-sex marriage.” It doesn’t touch upon the many positive arguments supporting traditional marriage.

Also, the article is not an attack on people with same-sex attractions. All people, regardless of sexual orientation, deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. Instead, the article is a rational look at whether we should redefine civil marriage, an institution that touches all people and cultures.

Read the full article.

 

 

In addition to the piece above, I also contributed an introductory article for the newsweekly and an interview with Princeton professor Robert George. Check them out below:
Finding good answers in the “same-sex marriage” debate

In this I explain how Chick-Fil-A and Facebook led me to write about such a volatile subject:

If you simply accept marriage today as between one man and one woman, or disagree with the idea of “same-sex marriage” even for legitimate reasons, you’re unequivocally branded a hateful bigot. This emotionally charged atmosphere makes rational discussion nearly impossible. Political slogans, sound-bites, tribal divisions, and name-calling drown out real arguments and leave little room for charity and clear-thinking….

 

More than ever Catholics need simple, rational, non-religious reasons to reinforce their arguments against “same-sex marriage.”

 

My Interview with Professor Robert George

Robert George is one of my great intellectual heroes so I was excited to talk with him about marriage. George is a visiting professor at Harvard Law School and professor of jurisprudence at Princeton University.

He’s also an expert on marital law and a strong advocate of traditional marriage. Along with Sherif Girgis and Ryan T. Anderson, George co-authored a new book titled, What Is Marriage? Man and Woman: A Defense (Encounter Books). It’s based on their renowned academic paper on the same topic that appeared in the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy.

Professor George and I spoke about the book, his work, and the main arguments surrounding same-sex marriage.

 

 

In a sidebar for the main article I also recommend three helpful books on the topic of “same-sex marriage”:

Getting the Marriage Conversation Right: A Guide for Effective Dialogue by William May (Emmaus Road, 2012)
One Man, One Woman: A Catholic’s Guide to Defending Marriage by Dale O’Leary (Sophia Institute Press, 2012)
What Is Marriage? Man and Woman: A Defense by Robert George, Ryan T. Anderson, Sherif Girgis (Encounter, 2007)

 

 
 
   

 

What are the most common arguments you’ve heard for “same-sex marriage”?

 

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