Month: March 2021

Greek and Roman History

Pondering the Death of Socrates in Xenophon, Plato, and Aristophanes

03/19/2021 Bruce Strom 8

These works on the trial and execution of Socrates by Xenophon and Plato testify to their anger at the citizens of Athens for condemning their gadfly teacher and friend. Xenophon and Plato also show their anger at Socrates for the hubris and arrogance displayed in full force in his trial speech and his sentencing speech. They want to remind us that just as the Homeric heroes of the battle of Troy showed their hubris at the battlefield, so too did their hero Socrates show hubris in the public courtroom of Athens. […]

Philosophy

Socrates, Aristophanes and The Clouds, Capitol Riots, Georgia, and the Big Lie

03/19/2021 Bruce Strom 3

Many millennia ago there was another injustice when a five-hundred person jury convicted Socrates to death, and in his trial Socrates felt compelled to protest to the jurors that he was not the same Socrates as the miscreant Socrates lampooned by the Athenian comedian Aristophanes in his play “The Clouds.” […]

Morality

Can Good Catholics Read Hans Kung? Should Devout Catholics Read Hans Kung?

03/13/2021 Bruce Strom 0

Can Good Catholics Read Hans Kung?  Should Devout Catholics Read Hans Kung?  We should all read books on theology, philosophy, and psychology with discernment, testing them first against Scripture then Church teaching, and you should definitely read the books by Hans Kung with discernment.  Most importantly, by learning more about why the Catholic Church was goaded into announcing this discipline against Hans Kung, we can learn anyone who wishes to read and discuss these timeless topics can do so with humility, without succumbing to pride. […]