Carl E. Olson's Blog, page 331

"Ayn Rand's philosophy is unlivable, either by her or anyone else."

Here, contra some of the arguments made in James Kidd's essay "Ayn Rand Attack on Christian Morality", is an except from "Ayn Rand: Architect of the Culture of Death", by Dr. Donald DeMarco, an essay that became (in a longer and somewhat different form) a chapter in Architects of the Culture of Death (Ignatius Press, 2004), by DeMarco and Benjamin Wiker:

Throughout the course of history, according to Ayn Rand, there have been three general views of morality. The first two are mystical, which, for Rand, means fictitious, or non-objective. The third is objective, something that can be verified by the senses. Initially, a mystical view reigned, in which the source of morality was believed to be God's will. This is not compatible either with Rand's atheism, or her objectivism. In due course, a neo-mystical view held sway, in which the "good of society" replaced the "will of God. The essential defect of this view, like the first, is that it does not correlate with an objective reality. "There is no such entity as 'society,'" she avers. And since only individuals really exist, the so-called "good of society" degenerates into a state where "some men are ethically entitled to pursue any whims (or any atrocities) they desire to pursue, while other men are ethically obliged to spend their lives in the service of that gang's desires."

Only the third view of morality is realistic and worthwhile. This is Rand's objectivism, a philosophy that is centred exclusively on the individual. It is the individual alone that is real, objective, and the true foundation for ethics. Therefore, Rand can postulate the basic premise of her philosophy: "The source of man's rights is not divine law or congressional law, but the law of identity. A is A – and Man is Man."

An individual belongs to himself as an individual. He does not belong, in any measure, to God or to society. A corollary of Rand's basic premise is that "altruism," or the sacrifice of one's only reality – one's individuality – for a reality other than the self, is necessarily self-destructive and therefore immoral. This is why she can say that "altruism holds death as its ultimate goal and standard of value." On the other hand, individualism, cultivated through the "virtue of selfishness," is the only path to life. "Life," she insists, "can be kept in existence only by a constant process of self-sustaining action." Man's destiny is to be a "self-made soul."

Man, therefore, has a "right to life." But Rand does not mean by this statement that he has a "right to life" that others have a duty to defend and support. Such a concept of "right to life" implies a form of "altruism," and consequently is contrary to the good of the individual. In fact, for Rand, it constitutes a form of slavery. "No man," she emphasizes, "can have a right to impose an unchosen obligation, an unrewarded duty or an involuntary servitude on another man. There can be no such thing as 'the right to enslave.'" Moreover, there are no rights of special groups, since a group is not an individual reality. As a result, she firmly denies that groups such as the "unborn," "farmers," "businessmen," and so forth, have any rights whatsoever.

Her notion of a "right to life" begins and ends with the individual. In this sense, "right to life" means the right of the individual to pursue, through the rational use of his power of choice, whatever he needs in order to sustain and cultivate his existence. "An organism's life is its standard of value: that which furthers its life is the good, that which threatens it is evil." As Rand has John Galt tell her readers, "There is only one fundamental alternative in the universe: existence or nonexistence." Man's existence must stay in existence. This is the mandate of the individual and the utility of the virtue of selfishness. Non-existence is the result of altruism and careens toward death. Making sacrifices for one's born or unborn children, one's elderly parents or other family members becomes anathema for Ayn Rand. She wants a Culture of Life to emerge, but she envisions that culture solely in terms of individuals choosing selfishly, the private goods of their own existence. If ever the anthem for a pro-choice philosophy has been recorded, it comes from the pen of Ayn Rand: "Man has to be man – by choice; he has to hold his life as a value – by choice; he has to learn to sustain it – by choice; he has to discover the values it requires and practise his virtues – by choice. A code of values accepted by choice is a code of morality."

No philosopher ever proposed a more simple and straightforward view of life than the one Ayn Rand urges upon us. Man=Man; Existence = Existence; only individuals are real; all forms of altruism are inherently evil. There are no nuances or paradoxes. There is no wisdom. There is no depth. Complex issues divide reality into simple dichotomies. There is individualism and altruism, and nothing in between. Despite the apparent superficiality of her philosophy, Rand considered herself history's greatest philosopher after Aristotle. ...

Ayn Rand's philosophy is unlivable, either by her or anyone else. A philosophy that is unlivable can hardly be instrumental in building a Culture of Life. It is unlivable because it is based on a false anthropology. The human being is not a mere individual, but a person. As such, he is a synthesis of individual uniqueness and communal participation. Man is a transcendent being. He is more than his individuality.

Here is a 2004 Ignatius Insight interview with DeMarco and Wiker about their book.

The Agony of Victory and the Thrill of Defeat

A Scriptural Reflection on the Readings for Sunday, April 17, 2011, Palm Sunday | Carl E. Olson

Readings:
• Matt. 21:1-11
• Isa. 50:1-7
• Psa. 22:8-9, 17-18, 19-20, 23-24
• Phil. 2:6-11
• Matt. 26:14—27:66 or 27:11-54

"The thrill of victory…and the agony of defeat." I heard those dramatically uttered words many times when I was growing up. They introduced ABC's "Wide World of Sports," and the start of a game, match, or competition of some sort.

The readings for Palm Sunday dramatically depict the thrill of Christ's victorious entrance into Jerusalem, His agony in the garden, and His apparent defeat on the Cross, taking us to the cusp of His stunning victory over the grave. Those events weren't, of course, matters of sport and entertainment, but of life and death, damnation and salvation. And they contain a wealth of paradox, filled with seemingly apparent contradictions that can only make sense because they are supernatural. They are, to put it another, part of the foolishness of God that is wiser than the wisdom of men (cf., 1 Cor 1:25).

A couple of these paradoxes are captured beautifully in today's reading from St. Paul's epistle to the Philippians. Christ was "in the form of God," yet "emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness…" God the Son, the Creator of all things, willingly became a man and dwelt among mankind in a specific place and time. This is the astounding truth of the Incarnation—the second Person of the Trinity assumed a human nature and was born of the Virgin Mary. It is, along with the Trinity, a central belief of all Christians, as the Catechism points out: "Belief in the true Incarnation of the Son of God is the distinctive sign of Christian faith" (par 463).

The crowds who gathered in Jerusalem to greet the Son of David did not understand the Incarnation, but knew that somehow, in some world-changing fashion, God was present with the prophet riding on a colt. They believed—at least for the moment—that He came in the name of the Lord, and that He was the Messiah promised by the prophet Zechariah (see Zech 9:9).

But how long would the thrill of this victory last? For some, apparently, not long at all. As St. Matthew describes, even those in Christ's inner circle weren't immune to temptation. Yet the decision of Judas to betray Christ did not thwart God's plan of salvation, but helped bring it to fruition. As St. Paul teaches, the Son of God didn't just humble Himself by becoming man, but by "becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross."

If the Incarnation is incomprehensible, the death of the God-man on the Cross is simply incredible, an audacious act of sacrificial love freely accepted by the One who is and who knows perfect Love. The Cross is not the end, but the beginning, the start of a new creation and the birth of the Church. It is not the final destruction of a life, but the only source of everlasting life.

The Easter liturgy of the Eastern Churches continually returns to a simple refrain of paradoxical joy: "By death He conquered death." G.K. Chesterton, a master of paradox, had a character in the novel The Ball and the Cross put it this way: "The cross cannot be defeated … for it is Defeat." Here is the true thrill of victory, not snatched from the jaws of defeat, but in and through the jaws of death. It is because of this that God exalted Christ Jesus, so that every tongue will confess that He is Lord.

Here is a final paradox to ponder: those who should recognize the Messiah often do not, while those who have little status or knowledge often do recognize Him. Judas, who lived with Christ for three years, betrayed Him to the chief priests, whose place and power blinds them to identity of the man from Nazareth. The lowly crowds, however, sang "Hosanna!", and the Roman solders—accustomed to seeing death—exclaimed, at the foot of the Cross, "Truly, this was the Son of God!"

Perhaps this supernatural paradox could be called the agony of victory and the thrill of defeat.

(This "Opening the Word' column originally appeared in the March 16, 2008, edition of Our Sunday Visitor newspaper.)

"The moral collapse of our time cannot be fought unless the fog of banality is lifted, unless evil is called evil, felt as evil, and fought as evil."

In the past day, three different but interrelated pieces have crossed my screen, providing a depressing but needed glimpse into some of the challenges and difficulties that remain with the sex-abuse scandals. First, from Phil Lawler, a leading Catholic voice on the topic:

Look at the latest official figures on the cost of the sex-abuse scandal, and what do you see?

For every dollar spent last year on therapy for the victims of priestly abuse, American dioceses have spent $5.29 on lawyers' fees. For every dollar spent on therapy for the victims, another $1.54 was devoted to support for their priests (or, in many cases, ex-priests) who molested them.

It wouldn't be fair to say that the Church spent more money on the victimizers than the victims, because there is also that massive $70.4 million figure representing the settlements won by victims. Yet to keep things in perspective, even that huge expense was only a bit more than twice what dioceses paid the lawyers. And when you consider that the plaintiffs' lawyers took their fees out of the settlement awards, it seems likely that in the final analysis, the total sum that went into lawyers' accounts probably rivaled the amount that actually found its way to the abuse victims.

So, to recap, the lawyers pocketed roughly as much as the victims, and the cost of therapy for victims was less than the cost of care for predators. Something is seriously wrong here.

Lawsuits against the Church have become commonplace. We no longer blink at a cost of $124 million in one year to pay the costs of perversion in the clergy and malfeasance in the hierarchy. We expect it, God help us. The Church is still staggering through an ongoing crisis; the "long Lent" is not yet over.

Delve a little deeper into today's report.

Read the entire piece on CatholicCulture.org. Lawler notes, "The sex-abuse crisis erupted in the US because American bishops shirked their responsibility to discipline priests." And speaking of bishops, Robert Moynihan, editor of Inside the Vatican magazine, takes a long look in his most recent e-letter at the disgusting situation of former Bishop of Bruges Roger Vangheluwe. But it is his remarks prior that are worth reading a few times over:

Reflections on Our Crisis

The present crisis of our Church is not something that can be exorcised merely with a wish and a prayer. There must be sacrifice, and discipline, and actual change of behavior.

There must be a thorough cleansing, a purification, as so many have lost their way, and in their disorientation, no longer even realize -- as the archbishop in Belgium confesses -- what they are doing, why they are doing it, or even that it is wrong.

And this cleansing must include sacrifice, beyond wishes and prayers.

Our tragedy is that evil has become banal.

(The phrase "banality of evil" was coined by  the Jewish writer Hannah Arendt and incorporated in the title of her 1963 work Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil. It is the idea that the great evils in history generally, and during the persecution of the Jews during the Second World War in particular, were not executed by fanatics or sociopaths, but rather by ordinary people who accepted the premises of their state and therefore participated with the view that their actions were normal. Explaining this phenomenon, Edward S. Herman has emphasized the importance of "normalizing the unthinkable." According to him, "doing terrible things in an organized and systematic way rests on 'normalization.' This is the process whereby ugly, degrading, murderous, and unspeakable acts become routine and are accepted as 'the way things are done.'")

The moral collapse of our time cannot be fought unless the fog of banality is lifted, unless evil is called evil, felt as evil, and fought as evil.

Our age has fallen into this trap: we no longer sense that we are in the grip of evil. We have grown numb.

In one of his books, Walker Percy, the American Catholic novelist who died about 20 years ago, uses an epigram he attributes to Dante. Certain human beings, he says, no longer have a sense of the gravity of sin, and this is a terrible condition, he says. "So low they had fallen that they no longer believed themselves creatures worthy even of being damned."

In other words, the very worst condition of all is to forget one's true nature.

A powerful reflection, especially relevant at the end of The Great Fast. Finally, as Holy Week approaches, Dave Pierre presents this news:

As Christians observe Holy Week and the anticipation of Easter, PBS' Frontline program will air another investigation into abuse by clergy of the Catholic Church. In an episode entitled, "The Silence," the program (Tue. 4/19/11) is scheduled to profile the awful abuse from decades ago of under-aged Native Americans and Eskimos in Alaska.

The network claims that it is covering "a little-known chapter of the Catholic Church sex abuse story." Yet the narrative is hardly "little known." The New York Times, for example, has run a number of articles in the past few years about this topic, while the Los Angeles Times ran a humungous front-page piece about these cases a while back. (We even commented on it at the time.)

One cannot help but conclude that PBS is piling on this narrative as a means to hammer the Catholic Church. To wit, Frontline already aired a lengthy episode on the Catholic abuse narrative not that long ago ("Hand of God," Jan. 2007). If this upcoming episode is anything like the last one, viewers can expect to hear stomach-turning stories of abuse while being shown visuals of Church items and other holy images. (This is a not-so-subtle attempt to connect the thoughts of criminal child abuse with the Catholic Church.)

It is also possible that notorious attorney John Manly, who represented many of the alleged victims, will make an appearance on the upcoming show. Viewers should be warned (if he does indeed appear) that Manly's relationships with truth and facts are not always reliable, to say the least. 

Read the entire report on TheMediaReport.com site. Finally, a Psalm on the need for the forgiveness of sins:

Psalm 32: A Psalm of David. A Maskil.

Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.
Blessed is the man to whom the LORD imputes no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
When I declared not my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long.
For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer.
I acknowledged my sin to thee, and I did not hide my iniquity; I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD"; then thou didst forgive the guilt of my sin.
Therefore let every one who is godly offer prayer to thee; at a time of distress, in the rush of great waters, they shall not reach him.
Thou art a hiding place for me, thou preservest me from trouble; thou dost encompass me with deliverance.
I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.
Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding, which must be curbed with bit and bridle, else it will not keep with you. 
Many are the pangs of the wicked; but steadfast love surrounds him who trusts in the LORD.
Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!

Happy Birthday, Pope Benedict XVI!

The Holy Father turns eight-four years old today. May God grant him many happy years!

For a brief overview of his life, visit the author page for Joseph Ratzinger/Pope Benedict XVI on Ignatius Insight.

Ratzinger was born in Germany (Bavaria) on Holy Saturday, April 16, 1927, and baptized that same day. He has said of his early baptism, "To be the first person baptized with the new water was seen as a significant act of Providence. I have always been filled with thanksgiving for having had my life immersed in this way in the Easter Mystery…".

He tells the story of the first fifty years of his life in Milestones: Memoirs 1927-1977 (read an excerpt here).

Other Ignatius Insight links:

• Biography of Joseph Ratzinger/Pope Benedict XVI
• Jesus of Nazareth (Part 2)
• Other Recent Books by Pope Benedict XVI
• All books by or about Joseph Ratzinger/Pope Benedict XVI
• Excerpts from books by Joseph Ratzinger/Pope Benedict XVI
• Articles about Joseph Ratzinger/Pope Benedict XVI

New: "Solzhenitsyn: A Soul in Exile" by Joseph Pearce

Now available from Ignatius Press, in both print and e-book formats:

Solzhenitsyn: A Soul in Exile

by Joseph Pearce

Related Products: Solzhenitsyn  -  Electronic Book Download

Revised, Expanded Edition

Based on exclusive, personal interviews with Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Joseph Pearce's biography of the renowned Russian dissident provides profound insight into a towering literary and political figure.

From his pro-Communist youth to his imprisonment in forced labor camps, from his exile in America to his return to Russia, Solzhenitsyn struggled with the weightiest questions of human existence: When a person has suffered the most terrible physical and emotional torture, what becomes of his spirit? Can science, politics and economics truly provide all of man's needs?

In his acclaimed literary and historical works, Solzhenitsyn exposed the brutality of the Soviet regime. Most famous for his novel One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich and his three-volume expose of the Russian police state, The Gulag Archipelago, he won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1970.

Solzhenitsyn's Christian faith deeply informed his response to the inhumanity of modern materialism as it took shape in twentieth- century Russia. His critique applies not only to Communism, however, but also to the post-Christian capitalism now dominant in the West. On the spiritual, cultural, and socio-political level, his writings still have much to teach the world.

This book also contains a gallery of rare photographs.

"The publication of this updated version of Joseph Pearce's biography of the great Russian writer is most welcome, indeed. With impressive clarity, Pearce conveys the fullness of a life lived at the service of freedom of the will and service to the truth. Where other critics and biographers have lamented Solzhenitsyn's departure from the modern progressive consensus, Pearce allows Solzhenitsyn to speak for himself. He presents an evocative portrait of a "pessimistic optimist" whose final words are catharsis and hope. The four new chapters in this edition give a good sense of the range of Solzhenitsyn's concerns during the last decade of his life and will correct many misunderstandings."
-Daniel J. Mahoney, Author of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn: The Ascent From Ideology  

"Pearce has grasped with great insight the spiritual core of Solzhenitsyn's achievement as a writer, and indeed as a prophet to Russia and the world. He writes with warm sympathy for Russia's greatest literary voice in modern times."
-David Aikman, Author, Great Souls: Six Who Changed the Century

"Joseph Pearce is best on what matters most about Solzhenitsyn: the centrality of the author's Christian faith. It is no wonder that Solzhenitsyn chose to . . . provide Pearce with fresh information. Newcomers to Solzhenitsyn should start with this biography. They will find here a highly readable rendition of one of the most sensational lives of the twentieth century."
-Edward E. Ericson Jr., Author, Solzhenitsyn and the Modern World

Hollywood Adjustment?

Hollywood Adjustment? | Steven D. Greydanus | Catholic World Report

Are religious themes and influences becoming more prominent in recent films?

In the recently released movie The Adjustment Bureau, Matt Damon plays a man who "gets a glimpse behind a curtain" that he "wasn't supposed to know existed." What he discovers is that the lives of men are governed by a master plan—a plan that is facilitated by superhuman figures who walk among us, intervening where necessary to keep our feet on the appointed path.

The Adjustment Bureau is Damon's second peek behind the curtain in the last several months. In Hereafter, directed by Clint Eastwood, Damon plays a gifted psychic who is apparently able to communicate with the departed loved ones of anyone he touches. Near-death experiences of a realm of light inhabited by the souls of the departed are another theme: Hereafter opens with one such experience, and a supporting character claims to have gathered evidence from countless such cases supporting the existence of an afterlife.

The Adjustment Bureau and Hereafter are among a remarkable number of recent and upcoming Hollywood films in some way invoking themes of spirituality, religion, or belief. I am not including foreign films like Of Gods and Men, Xavier Beauvois' extraordinary French film about the 1996 massacre of French Trappist monks living in Algeria, now playing in limited release. Nor do I mean Christian-produced indies like The Grace Card or Courageous, from the creators of Fireproof. (There Be Dragons, Roland Joffé's upcoming drama depicting events in the life of St. Josemaría Escriva, is a blend of these two categories—part indie, part foreign film.) I am referring primarily to mainstream entertainment with big-name stars distributed by the major Hollywood studios. 2010 was particularly rife with such Hollywood religiosity, quantitatively if not necessarily qualitatively.

The year opened with a pair of dim-witted quasi-religious apocalyptic thrillers. In The Book of Eli, Denzel Washington wanders a postapocalyptic wasteland on a mission from God to save the last copy of the King James Bible while keeping it from those who would use it to create a false religion. Legion imagines God losing faith in mankind and sending angelic hosts to wipe out humanity, prompting Michael to rebel, defending humanity against Gabriel and his forces.

Hymnody, gospel music, and scriptural quotations showed up in more than one film. The Coen brothers' critically and popularly acclaimed remake True Grit opens with a citation from Proverbs, and the characters' dialogue is peppered with allusions to scriptural and biblical themes. The score makes use of several hymns, notably "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms," sung over the end credits by Iris DeMent, but also "What a Friend We Have in Jesus" and others. (The celebrated indie Winter's Bone, a film with more than a few thematic links to True Grit, also features a hymn over its end credits, "We'll Understand it Better By and By" by Rev. Charles A. Tindley.)

Read the entire essay on www.CatholicWorldReport.com...

What is the point of YOUCAT?

ZENIT reports on the presentation of the Youth Catechism of the Catholic Church, which took place two days ago at the Vatican. It then looks at the purpose of YOUCAT, as well as its approach and style:

What's the point?

The archbishop of Vienna, Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, brought his experience in preparing the adult Catechism of the Catholic Church to this project.

He spoke at a press conference about the motives for a youth catechism.

"The urgency stems from the fact that the young protagonists of this text belong to a generation for whom being Christian is a conscious choice," the cardinal stated.

Youth who have decided to be Christian, he said, "have a very different approach to the faith from our generations, for whom it was normal to participate in Sunday Mass."

"This generation knows that it needs to respond to the questions of its contemporaries," he said, promoting Benedict XVI's affirmation that the faith is reasonable, that is, that it makes sense to clear-thinking people.

Memory skills

Youcat has 527 questions and answers. At the end of each answer, there are references to the deeper explanations that can be found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

The president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization, Archbishop Salvatore Fisichella, said such a structure was a smart choice.

"It makes it possible to do the necessary synthesis," he said, "to keep the contents brief and synthetic."

"For years we have heard about the need to find 'brief formulas' of faith that can be easily memorized," he reflected. "The history of professions of faith shows clearly that this happened at the dawn of Christianity, and these formulas remain unaltered in the sacred texts."

Read the entire piece.

A longtime reader of this blog, whose comments have always been thoughtful and fair, recently expressed his concerns about YOUCAT (which he had not yet seen or read), writing: "Gut reaction? All ambiguities aside, all conspiracies aside, although I have not read this 'Youcat' my instincts are shouting at me that this is simply another one of those 'dumb-down' kind of projects that feels like condescension to the young."

I wrote, in response:

I can understand you initial reaction as Catechisms are often a dicey matter. But, having now read through large sections of the YOUCAT, I can say without reservation that it is not a "dumb-down" kind of project. Not at all, in fact. It is obviously shorter than the CCC; it is somewhat like the "Compendium" (Q&A format, for example), but with key words defined in the margins, along with citations from Scripture and quotes from Church documents, Popes, saints, etc. in the margins that pertain to the paragraphs on that page. (And each answer lists reference #'s for the CCC for further reading.) In fact, the YOUCAT (527 questions/300 pages) and the "Compendium" (598 questions/200 [larger] pages) are very similar in length and size (compared to 2865 paragraphs/900 pages in the CCC). I think it is attractive without being overly graphics-oriented. I'm not a fan of the little stick figures throughout, but they aren't distracting.

I would add, as the ZENIT article pointed out, that Cardinal Schönborn was one of the co-editors of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, along with Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger. Not surprisingly, then, there is a very clear sense of continuity between YOUCAT and the CCC. For more about the Youth Catechism, visit www.YouCat.us.

A little report on the state of Ignatius Press

National Catholic Register has a piece by Daria Sockey titled, "Catholic Publishing at the Crossroads"; here is the section about Ignatius Press:

Another major player, Ignatius Press, can only be described as "confident." With 2010 sales at an all-time high, the San Francisco-based publisher intends to go full-steam ahead with their traditional array of books, music and DVDs — but also to continue an aggressive digitizing project that began one and a half years ago.

"We have a full-time staff person putting virtually all of our new books and many of the old ones into e-book form," said marketing director Tony Ryan. "When Father Fessio returned to us from Ave Maria University, he realized we had to jump on this. Right now, the vast majority of our sales are still hardcopy, but some e-books are doing pretty well."

A recently released second edition of The Ignatius Bible has sold about 6,000 e-books versus 27,000 print editions. The next digital challenge facing Ignatius is to produce more MP3 audio books.

"Producing these is a slower process than e-books," Ryan said. "And there's the expense of hiring a professional reader. So far, the sales are low, so we're not sure whether this will catch on or not."

Ryan also mentioned recent initiatives unrelated to the digital revolution. Ignatius has been working with several mainstream Christian publishers to make products available to the Catholic market. The Ignatius edition of Zondervan's new Catholic audio Bible is one example. And a special edition of Abby Johnson's pro-life conversion story, Unplanned, was the result of an unusual collaboration among Ignatius, Protestant publisher Tyndale House, and the evangelical group Focus on the Family. "When we first contacted Tyndale to see if we could do a joint effort, their first reaction was that this was a wild idea. But they thought about it and were soon on board with the idea. It was a way for them to penetrate the Catholic market." A little more than two months after its release, the Ignatius Unplanned is already in its third printing.

While the joint publications of Unplanned might be unusual, Ignatius Press has been involved in similar co-productions in the past. For example, in 1992 it co-published In Search of a National Morality: A Manifesto for Evangelicals and Catholics (edited by William Bentley Ball) with Baker Book House, a leading Evangelical publisher. And another large Evangelical publishing house was interested for a time in co-publishing a book about The Da Vinci Code a few years ago (negotiations broke off when it was leaked that my favorite Queen album is "Queen II").

Here are the best-selling books for Ignatius Press for the month of April and for 2011 so far:

 Top Ten Books of The Month
 Top Ten Books of the Year

1. Jesus of Nazareth, Vol 2
2. Jesus of Nazareth
3. Padre Pio Under Investigation
4. Unplanned
5. Be a Man!
6. Ignatius Bible (RSV-CE2) Hardcover
7. Jesus of Nazareth Study Guide
8. Rome Sweet Home
9. Catholic Study Bible: New Testament (Paperback)
10. Light of the World

1. Jesus of Nazareth, Vol 2
2. Unplanned
3. Be a Man!
4. Light of the World  
5. Jesus of Nazareth
6. Catholic Study Bible: New Testament (Paperback)
7. Holiness is Always in Season
8. Padre Pio Under Investigation
9. Fatima for Today 
10. Book of Genesis: Study Bible 

Ayn Rand's Attack on Christian Morality

Ayn Rand's Attack on Christian Morality | James Kidd | April 14, 2011 | Ignatius Insight

The April 15 release of the film Atlas Shrugged: Part I brings the Russian-born novelist and philosopher Ayn Rand (1905–1982) back into the spotlight. Her magnum opus, Atlas Shrugged (1957), continues to sell more than half a century after its publication. The novel even topped Amazon.com's fiction sales at one point in 2009 and is required reading among Tea Party activists.[1] Staffers at the libertarian Cato Institute who have not read the novel are called "virgins."

But orthodox Catholics have a love/hate relationship with Rand. Political conservatives, with whom they traditionally align, find much to like in Rand's writings on government and economics. Few have made the case for limited government as persuasively and intelligently as Rand.

But Rand's views on organized religion, making it the major villain of history, gives pause to many religious conservatives. Her diatribes against religion often border on the delirious. Catholics might be surprised to learn, then, that Objectivist ethics is actually reconcilable with Catholic teaching.

Rand's "Selfishness" Defined

Objectivist ethics is defined more by what it opposes than what it proposes. In Rand's view, the entirety of the world's problems can be traced back to altruism, which she defines as "the doctrine which demands that man live for others and place others above self." What's wrong with that? "The man who attempts to live for others is a dependent. He is a parasite in motive and makes parasites of those he serves. The relationship produces nothing but mutual corruption."[2]

Rand believes that there are two classes of people: the "creators" (inventors, intellectuals, businessmen, and all others who use their minds to create something useful) and those she calls looters or second-handers, inferior beings who spend their pitiful lives mooching off the creators and their creations like parasites.

According to Rand, "looters" have always been around and have always been dependent on the kindness and compassion of the creators for their own sustenance. But centuries ago, the looters made the creators' benevolence toward them obligatory. In other words, one man's need placed a moral burden on the one who had the resources to relieve it. Ever since then, anything and everything the creators produced was claimed as the rightful property of everyone else. Thus was born the evil of altruism.

Read the entire essay on Ignatius Insight...

YOUCAT.us

That's the address of the webpage for the Youth Catechism of the Catholic Church (YOUCAT), now available from Ignatius Press. The page contains links to the Foreword, written by Pope Benedict XVI, press releases, and sample pages. There is also a Facebook page for the book, with more links and short excerpts.