Ronald Long’s Men, Homosexuality and the Gods: An exploration into the Religious Significance of Male Homosexuality in World Perspective is really a book about arguments in the contemporary US, particularly religious arguments, over homosexuality.

Hence the berdache of Amerindian tradition (Holy Effeminancy: The Native American Berdache As Living ( Read more... )

Pierre Riche’s Daily Life in the World of Charlemagne is an enjoyable, and comprehensive, survey of society within the Carolingian Empire. The ‘first Europe’ as Riche labels it, the first genuinely European (as distinct from Mediterranean) civilisation. ( a passing order )

Diana Wood’s Medieval Economic Thought is a helpful and informative journey through medieval economic thinking across time and subjects.

During the medieval period, what we would now call economic commentary was dominated by churchmen, with church courts having jurisdiction over a great deal of economic activity. Its prime concern was with sin ( Read more... )

Monday night, went to Arrowsreach training. It's about an hour's drive for me and I haven't only very occasionally felt up to doing it for much of this year. So, it was a "I'm healthy again now" thing to do.

Only three folk in armour. But Arrowsreach was running--of all things--a rapier tourney. So I talked to Mistress Margi and heaven_star who were ( Read more... )

In a series of posts, natural law philosopher Ed Feser has explicated and defended traditional natural law theory, particularly against recent criticism by philosopher Simon Blackburn and by uber-blogger Andrew SullivanEd Feser’s posts have the great advantages that they are written by a serious philosopher and are not, as is very common among ( Read more... )

Since homosexuals are [almost] always born into heterosexual families and overwhelmingly heterosexual milieus, they are the most isolated of all social groups. So the easiest to demean and slander. And find it the hardest to achieve social “critical mass” to stand up for being treated as just folk (or even a sense that there are other people like ( Read more... )

Went to a talk on Monday night by Jim Franklin about his latest book Catholic Values and Australian Realities. The talk was clear and highly informative and the discussion extremely wide-ranging.

Prof. Franklin gave an extremely clear exposition of the basic notions of natural law theory in Catholic thought. In Catholic thought the good exists ( Read more... )

At short notice, went to the IPA’s 2006 H V McKay lecture. Was given a free place at the Melbourne Liberal Club table. Had pleasant time chatting to Andrew K. The other Melbourne Liberal Club folk at the table were the sort of testosterone-ridden boors who, as a group, must be walking recruiters to left-of-centre politics. Andrew informed me ( Read more... )