tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37589721331585843.post1686717483188827725..comments2024-03-26T11:33:59.219-06:00Comments on Religion in American History: Pagan, Protestant, Catholic, Jew: Mortimer J. Adler's Varieties of Religious ExperiencePaul Harveyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13881964303772343114noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37589721331585843.post-34299440913030219902013-09-27T09:10:33.033-06:002013-09-27T09:10:33.033-06:00Mark,
Not really, at least not explicitly and pub...Mark,<br /><br />Not really, at least not explicitly and publicly---that I know of. I think, however, he supported some Thomistic connections made by Hutchins in <i>Education for Freedom</i> (a 1943 book that put together some of his lectures). But even then that's more about connections to Thomistic philosophy than theology. <br /><br />My "that I know of" is purposed because Adler wrote so much. I don't doubt there's a lecture or draft on this that I might've missed. The place to look for a religious/theological justification for a great books approach to the liberal arts would be in his post-Paideia 1980s and 1990s writings. I wouldn't be surprised if something turned up there. I offer this time frame due to his 1984 confessed conversion. In fact, I'd probably go hunting in the 1988-1992 time frame, during that hot point for the canon topic during the Culture Wars.<br /><br />But, again, I don't recall any published writings that connect great books study to, say, Biblical verses or specific theologians (writing as theologians).<br /><br />- TimTim Lacyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04098955217921572372noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37589721331585843.post-61213312192710785492013-09-25T10:00:11.268-06:002013-09-25T10:00:11.268-06:00Just wondering, Tim--did Adler ever provide theolo...Just wondering, Tim--did Adler ever provide theological underpinning for the Great Books idea? Is this something you cover in your book and I should just read it? I know one of your main arguments is that the Great Books idea really wasn't an exclusively conservative notion.Mark T. Edwardshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13687874101232569510noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37589721331585843.post-64802055029115152882013-09-23T09:17:25.427-06:002013-09-23T09:17:25.427-06:00Thanks Lincoln and Mark.
I've noticed that Ca...Thanks Lincoln and Mark.<br /><br />I've noticed that Catholics, when commenting on those new to The Church, like to act as if it was both inevitable (after the fact) and <i>fait accompli</i>. I guess it helps the native Catholics come to term with perceived interloper status of the convert. <br /><br />Lincoln your comment about the will correlates somewhat with Adler. There's a sense that he had a will in the 1940s, but not either the faith nor the desire to change his behavior (e.g. sexual ethics, gruff attitude/rudeness). That would explain why he was open, when we reflected on it all in 1992 at the age of 90, that his conversion hadn't changed his behavior. His gruffness was now desired, and he had left behind his transgressions from sexual norms with his faithful marriage to Caroline. - TLTim Lacyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04098955217921572372noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37589721331585843.post-79365675942932007812013-09-23T08:51:05.542-06:002013-09-23T08:51:05.542-06:00I guess the same could be observed of the early Ru...I guess the same could be observed of the early Russell Kirk and the later Walter Lippmann and Lewis Mumford--they were Catholics and just didn't know it yet.Mark T. Edwardshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13687874101232569510noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37589721331585843.post-1293851058260342032013-09-23T08:42:04.475-06:002013-09-23T08:42:04.475-06:00Tim: This is a very interesting piece on Adler, an...Tim: This is a very interesting piece on Adler, and quite the puzzle that you're putting together.<br /><br />I don't have any answers to your questions about "Why not Catholicism in the 1940s, when he was well-known for his Thomistic philosophical work? Why Catholicism in 1999?" But I thought these two quotations from Newman's <i>Apologia Pro Vita Sua</i> were relevant:<br /><br />"Great acts take time."<br /><br />"It was made a subject of reproach to me at the time, and is at this day, that I did not leave the Anglican Church sooner. To me this seems a wonderful charge ..."<br /><br />In the same chapter, I believe, he says that he could not have gotten into the Catholic church any faster than he did. <br /><br />I think the point is that conversion is a matter of the will as much as of the intellect, and many converts report that it took years or decades for their will to change. I hope that's helpful.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06130738672087808415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37589721331585843.post-40950948107966842402013-09-23T08:21:48.442-06:002013-09-23T08:21:48.442-06:00Thanks a million to Mark Edwards for this guest ap...Thanks a million to Mark Edwards for this guest appearance in his regular Monday spot. I've been monitoring RiAH since its beginning, but this is my first guest post. - TLTim Lacyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04098955217921572372noreply@blogger.com