Catholic Studies Academy Podcast

In this episode, Jason and Dr. Smith discuss St. Thomas' 2nd way of demonstrating God's existence. We cover: - We live in a changing world - Secondary or intermediary causes - The Efficient Cause - Absurd positions against this way - Sequential order vs outside of order - Wholly other Cause

In this episode, Jason and Dr. Smith continue their discussion on the Problem of Knowledge and discuss the topic of Classical Realism. We cover: - Overcoming errors to truth - Epistemology - Defining Classical Realism - Dialectic Refutation vs Proof - Truth exists - We can know the truth - We can trust our senses - First Principles

In this episode, Jason and Dr. Smith discuss issues surrounding the attainment of knowledge. We cover: - What is knowledge? - What is epistemology? - "How do you know that?" - Questions regarding "justification" of belief - Skepticism - Whether truth should be defined in terms of coherence rather than correspondence? - Whether knowledge should be defined by utility rather than truth? Donate to CSA and help us continue our work - https://catholicstudiesacademy.com/donate-to-csa/

In this episode, Jason and Dr. Smith discuss the classical distinction between nature and grace. We cover: - Modern challenges to the classical distinction - What is nature/natural - Isn't everything from God? - The interaction of grace with nature - Real distinction - To Heal and Elevate - Potency and Act Click Here to support CSA - https://catholicstudiesacademy.com/donate-to-csa/

In this episode, Jason and Dr. Smith discuss the reality of human evil and the cultural disregard for it. We cover: - The denial or diminishing of the reality or gravity of human evil - Erroneous Arguments - Catholic Responses - Flatly against scripture - Original sin - Concupiscence - The reality of bad men, sinners

In this episode, Jason and Dr. Smith discuss Modernism and Anthropocentrism in Catechesis throughout the 20th century. We cover: - The philosophical underpinnings of Modernism - The influence of Kant - What is Modernism? - Condemnation of certain positions in catechesis - Divine Revelation in Catechesis - The Theology of Revelation of Gabriel Moran - Moran's further influence on catechetical methodolgy - Experiential Catechesis - A Faithful Catechesis Help us create more content like this by donating to CSA - https://catholicstudiesacademy.com/donate-to-csa/

In this episode, Jason and Dr. Smith discuss the idea of Universals and trace its development in Medieval thought. We cover: - Plato and the Idea of Universals - Universals and Particulars - Christians and universals - How do we access universals? - St. Thomas and knowledge - The Franciscan development - Ockham and Nominalism - "Social Constructs" - The Importance of Medieval Philosophy

In this episode, Jason and Dr. Smith discuss salvation and the idea that all men might be saved. We cover: - Hans Urs Von Balthasar and Bishop Barron - Strict Universalism - Scriptural Passages pointing to universalism and damnation - "Reasonable" Hope - Constant teaching of the Church - What should be our disposition as Catholics?

Dr. Smith and Dr. Bulzacchelli discuss the legacy of John Paul II and in particular his moral theology. In this episode we cover: - The philosophical project of JP II - The gift of self in married love - The unique value of moral theology - The role of moral theology in understanding Christian marriage - The legacy of JP II in the arena of moral theology - Contemporary errors undermining Catholic moral theology within and outside of church

In this episode, Jason and Dr. Smith discuss knowledge and God. Sometimes people speak of heart knowledge and head knowledge, but what is this really? We discuss: - Knowledge and relationship - Knowledge and emotions - Love and knowledge - Doctrine as God revealing himself to us - Simplicity and doctrine - The will and the intellect - The intellect is ordered to truth and relationship

In this episode, Jason and Dr. Bulzacchelli discuss the issues of celibacy and married priests, We discuss: - Celibacy in Sacred Scripture - Permanent diaconate and Sacred Scripture - Paul to Timothy about bishops - "One woman man" - Church as bride - Understanding celibacy and marriage - Marriage is about the Eschaton - Josephite Marriages - The Holy Family as the Exemplar Family - How we imitate the Holy Family

In this episode, Jason and Dr. Smith continue their discussion on Metaphysics talking about the aspect of purpose and how it is found in being. We discuss: - Reality, being, and meaning - "Adulting" - Parts and arrangement of reality - Design in nature - Why deny natural purposes - Nature acts toward an end - Overwhelming evidence - reductio ad absurdum - Ordering of reason toward truth - Truth, pride, money and sex

In this episode, Jason and Dr. Smith discuss the importance of metaphysics and the connection of being to truth, beauty, and goodness. We discuss: - What is metaphysics - First Causes and the question of 'Why?' - What is being - Meaning and purpose - "Think for yourself" - A philosophy forged in hell - Science and power - Essence and Existence - Loneliness and Meaning - The existential burden of defining yourself

In this episode, Jason and Dr. Bulzacchelli discuss the Jewish Festival of Shavuot and the Christian feast of Pentecost. We discuss: - What is the Festival of Shavuot? - The idea of gift - The Torah as gift - Gift and Reception - Waiting and replacing Judas - Stone and Flesh - Tongues of Fire - Shavuot and the Church - Tower of Babel - The Holy Spirit and the Torah - The constitution of a people - The refusal of Pentecost

In this episode, Jason and Dr. Smith continue their discussion on authenticity, this time addressing Goodness. We discuss: - Authentic Goodness and Ethics - "Shared Ethical Discourse" - Lost Vocabulary - Emotivism - Goodness tied to Reality - Goodness is a form of Being - Goodness and Desire - Nature of Man and Goodness - Pleasure and the Good Mentioned in this episode: - "After Virtue" By Alastair McIntyre - https://www.amazon.com/After-Virtue-Study-Moral-Theory/dp/0268035040/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=after+virtue&qid=1559744168&s=gateway&sr=8-1

In this episode, we discuss authentic truth and the philosophical implications of truth lying in reality. We talk about: - The dictatorship of relativism - Feelings and Reality - Like beauty, truth lies in reality - Relativism's view of truth - Unicorns, Badgers, and the Mind - The world is organized and knowable - The alternative to truth is illusion Take Every Thought Captive - 2 Cor 10:4-5 "The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."

In this episode, Jason and Dr. Smith talk about what makes up authentic beauty. We discuss: - Is beauty in the eye of the beholder? - St. Thomas on Beauty - Beauty and Goodness - Beauty, Form, and Reality - St. Thomas' 3 characteristics of beauty - Beauty and Truth - Beauty without Truth and Goodness - The intellect and beauty

In this episode, Jason, Dr. Bulzacchelli, and Dr. Smith talk about the meaning of Easter Joy. We discuss: - Is Easter joy sentimentalism? - The Eschataological Lens of the Christian - The Kingdom of God and wrong ways to think about it - Easter brings order - Metaphysical considerations - Matter and spirit - How to live this practically

In this episode, Jason and Dr. Smith discuss technology and several different aspects of how it affects us. we discuss: - “We become what we behold. We shape our tools, and thereafter our tools shape us.” ― Marshall McLuhan, Author of "The Medium is the Message" - The issue of immediacy - Constant stimulation - Communication and Technology - Vanity and Envy - Duplicity of Persons - Disembodied character of technology - St. Joseph the Worker

In this episode, Jason and Dr. Smith discuss the topics of the cross and the Resurrection within the Catholic intellectual tradition. We discuss: - Why the cross? - St. Thomas on Satisfaction - St. Anselm's Theory of Satisfaction - Mercy and Justice - Penal Substitution Theory - The Resurrection - The importance of the Ascension - Keeping up your prayer and study habits during Easter Season

In this episode, Dr. Benjamin Smith and Jason discuss a paper presented by Jason at the 8th Annual Symposium on Advancing the New Evangelization at Benedictine College in Kansas. We discuss: - Cardinal Ratzinger's "eclipse of the sense of God" - Technology and the Human Person - Social Media - The subjectification of reality - The need for Metaphysical Realism - Realism and the nature of things - Realism and Contemplation - The Primacy of the Creed - On the Creed, "the faith which it professes is reality, not merely the content of Christian consciousness." (Schonborn and Ratzinger, Christoph and Joseph. Introduction to the Catechism of the Catholic Church. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1994, 30.) -Dr. Jean Twenge's book iGen - https://www.amazon.com/iGen-Trends-Shaping-Todays-People/dp/B073XS9RXH/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=igen&qid=1555597937&s=gateway&sr=8-2

In this episode, Jason and Dr. Smith discuss a paper recently presented by Dr. Smith at the American Maritain Association on the topic of the common good. We discuss: - St. Thomas Aquinas and the Common Good - Acquired Actual Happiness - Utilitarian Error - Statist Error - Egalitarian Error - Theological Error

In this episode, Jason and Dr. Bulzacchelli talk about Christology and its primacy within the other disciplines of theology. We discuss: - The early Church and the Christological Controversies - Christology and the Sacraments - Christology and Salvation - Christology and Ecclesiology - Christ and John 6 - Christology and the Eucharist - Christology and Eschatology Check out Dr. Bulzacchelli's new course - https://catholicstudiesacademy.com/courses/christology/

In this episode, Jason and Dr. Bulzacchelli discuss Lent and some historical considerations. We discuss: - Early origins of Lent - Fasting and Abstinence - What the word Lent actually means - The idea of "doing something extra" for Lent - The importance of sacrifice during Lent - Simplicity in our Lenten offerings

In this episode, Jason and Dr. Smith discuss our society's confusion of different kinds of love. In order to evangelize people and the culture, we need to restore a proper understanding of love. We discuss: - Passionate Love - Human Love - Love is not primarily a feeling (passion) - Love is an act of the will - Discussion of the good in relation to the love - Discipline and Love - Brief discussion of the friendship and love

In this episode, Jason and Dr. Smith discuss the problem of confusion and understanding and how Aristotle's 4 Causes can help us avoid confusion. we discuss: - understanding has to judgments - judgments have to to do with reality - Plato asking 'what?' and 'why?' - Aristotle's 4 causes with examples - 4 Causes lead to 4 questions - how asking theses questions dispels confusion and leads to understanding

In this episode, Jason and Dr. Smith discuss St. Thomas' treatment of the passions. We discuss: - what are the passions - where do the passions lie - how the passions motivate - desire and the passions - love and desire - "Emotional Intelligence" - being intelligent about our emotions - Estimations and choices

In this episode, Jason talks with Dr. Allison Low about her embrace of the Catholic faith and her work in evangelization. We discuss: - Dr. Low's full embrace of her Catholic Faith - The relationship of studying the faith and loving God - Her experience with St. Paul's Street Evangelization - She gives 4 tips for every evangelist - The importance of writing, evangelizing, and teaching - Baptismal call to be holy and hand on the faith Dr. Low's work can be found at: www.catholicstand.com http://www.pillarandfoundation.com/ and we also discuss http://streetevangelization.com/

In this episode, Jason and Dr. Bulzacchelli talk with Lyle about Courage International. Lyle is the chapter leader for Courage in Nashville, TN. We discuss: - What is Courage - What are the 5 principles of Courage - What is shame and what do we do with it - What is Encourage - What separates Courage from other "ministries" - What is "acceptance" mean - Chastity and Freedom - What are some resources offered by Courage - What is the difference between celibacy and chastity

In this episode, Jason and Dr. Smith discuss the claim that is made even by some Christians that they do not need philosophy or that philosophy is useless if you have the Word of God. We discuss: - the role of philosophy in theology - what is faith - the elements of faith - what philosophy has to offer us - the limitations of philosophy with regard to faith - the usefulness of philosophy - faith seeking understanding

In this episode, Jason, Dr. Bulzacchelli, and Dr. Smith discuss the sin of detraction and the 10 Commandments. We discuss: - What is detraction? - Why it is important today - Detraction and Truth - Downplaying the 10 Commandments - Distinction of 10 Commandments and Levitical laws - Misconceptions about the old law and the new law - Detraction and some "what if" scenarios We mention the following article - https://relevantmagazine.com/god/why-do-christians-want-to-post-the-10-commandments-and-not-the-sermon-on-the-mount/

In this episode, Jason and Dr. Smith discuss the importance of intellectual development and fitting this into your New Year's resolutions. We discuss: - Physical Health and Intellectual Health - Practical Suggestions on setting up a development plan - The need for philosophy and theology - Intellectual Dieting - Philosophical reading suggestions - The need for silence

In this episode, Jason interviews Fr. George Elliott, a priest of the Diocese of Tyler who recently published a book entitled, Discernment Dos and Don'ts: A Practical Guide to Vocational Discernment. We discuss: - What is a vocation - The importance to discern properly - Holiness as a a vocation for all - God's Timing vs our timing - Objectively vs Subjectively Better Vocations - A Tour of Fr. Elliott's book Find at TAN Books: https://www.tanbooks.com/index.php/discernment-do-s-and-don-ts-a-practical-guide-to-vocational-discernment.html Find on Amazon: http://a.co/d/i2zStQN Connect with Fr. George Elliott: http://catholiccastmedia.com/

In this episode, Jason and Dr. Smith discuss the relevance of ancient philosophy, one of the new courses available at catholicstudiesacademy.com. We discuss: - What is ancient philosophy - The context of the rise of philosophy - Ancient relativism - Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle - The Sophists and the importance of reality - The Stoics - Plato's Theory of the Forms - Philosophy as a way of life - The modern relevance of ancient philosophy

In this episode, Jason and Dr. Bulzacchelli discuss some principles of Catholic economics. In particular, we look at communism and capitalism from an American perspective. We cover: - Communism - Right to Private Property and its limitations - Capitalism - Pope Leo XIII's Rerum Novarum - Rights of workers - Rights of employers - Just wage - The need for virtue in economics

In this episode, Jason and Dr. Smith discuss the crisis in education while reexamining the classical approach to education. We discuss: - Aristotle's view and goal of education - Habits and Virtues - Order - The importance of intellectual virtues - The Quadrivium - The Trivium and logic - The importance of logic in thinking clearly - The virtuous logician - Examining modern approaches to education

In this second episode on justice, Jason and Dr. Smith finish discussing the distinctions of justice as laid out by St. Thomas and the topic of capital punishment. We discuss: - Brief definition and overview of previous episode on the first two distinctions in justice - What is commutative justice (part-part) - Equal Exchange - Natural and Acquired rights - Acts opposed to commutative justice - Just punishment - Restoration of justice and retribution - A just punishment is a good act - Capital punishment - Are there crimes that could justify capital punishment?

In this episode, Jason and Dr. Smith discuss justice primarily in terms of politics and ethics. We cover: - Defining justice - The division of relationships within justice - Political justice (part-whole) - Service to the common good - Obedience to legitimate authority - Distributive justice (whole-part) - Genuine need and merit

In this episode, Jason talks to Joan Watson, Director of Adult Faith Formation (AFF) for the Diocese of Nashville, on the topic of Adult Faith Formation. In this episode, we discuss: - The primacy of adult faith formation in the Church's understanding of ministry - The goal of AFF - Formation for mission - The principle of subsidiarity in faith formation - How parishes can get started - Gradualness in formation - Primacy of the study of Sacred Scripture - Need for systematic formation Check out Joan's work at: joanmwatson.com and 3minutetheology.com

In this episode, Dr. Smith and John Carswell discuss the philosophical and theological themes of J. R. R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings and related writings. Mr. Carswell is the creator and host of The Tolkien Road, a weekly podcast on the writings of Tolkien. The podcasts and John's other writings can be found at truemyths.org. John is an expert on the writings of Tolkien and graduated from Belmont University with a Master of Arts degree in Literature. In this episode we discuss: - The nature of evil - The void, possibility, the soul, autonomy - Pride, domination, and the temptation of power - Pre-Christian insights and values - Hope, despair, and humility - Creativity, artistic creation, and beauty - Art as "sub-creation" - Christian art http://tolkienroad.com/

In this episode, Jason and Dr. Smith discuss the idea and defining characteristics of post-modern man. We discuss: - historical placement of modern and post-modern man - the idea that society structures everything - social constructions - reality as interpretation - metanarratives - how post-modern man views the human person - how post modern man views the world - points of contact for the Christian and post-modern man

In this episode, Jason and Dr. Smith discuss a topic covered in Dr. Smith's course on the Philosophy of the Human Person, namely, the will and human freedom. In Thomistic philosophy freedom must always be attached to what is good. Freedom is not the ability to choose whatever we want. We discuss: - how sense perception informs the person - freedom involves both the intellect and the will - how the intellect works - how the will works - we give multiple examples of how freedom must be attached to the good - how choosing the good leads to more freedom - the erroneous idea of shear possibilities is authentic freedom

Jason and Dr. Smith continue their discussion about God's Providence and the Problem of Evil. We discuss: - Bearing the Cross as part of being Christian - Passive purification/mortification - The false prosperity gospel - The compatibility of secular idea of autonomy and Christianity - The fact and implications of living in a fallen world - Suffering as punishment

In this episode, Jason and Dr. Smith discuss one of the most difficult topics of not just Christianity but human life as a whole. How can an all good God exist and there be senseless suffering. We cover: - Fundamental questions concerning the topic - Does God Cause evil? - Why does God allow evil? - The Aggregate Explanation - The Free Will Defense - The Soul Making Explanation - The role of evil in God's Providence - The example of Job

In this episode, Dr. Smith and Jason explore Plato's classical text, The Republic. We cover: - Is it better to live justly or unjustly? - Glacoun's argument for an unjust society - Plato's definition of justice and why justice is good - The guardians of a just society - The Philosopher-King and the modern politician - The Allegory of the Cave and Modern Society

In this episode, Dr. Smith, Dr. Bulzacchelli, and Jason Gale discuss the issues regarding problematic catechesis particularly in the late 20th century. We cover: - A century of movements - Anthropocentric turn in catechesis - A problematic view of revelation - Problematic methodology

Christian faith has been declining for decades, but its influence and appeal has fallen remarkably in recent years. Indeed, it appears that the faithful are simply disappearing. The central, undeniable truth about modern Christianity is that it has turned decisively from away from a Biblical, God-centered worldview, and in its place has constructed an anthropocentric form of Christian humanism that prioritizes human suffering, human satisfaction, and human dignity. In this worldview man is given the first place in reality. In this episode, Jason and Dr. Smith discuss this anthropocentric turn in Christianity and specifically how the creator/creature relationship can serve as fundamental to a Catholic worldview. - Anthropocentricism - Creator-creature relationship - The image of God as distinct from God - Divine justice - The reality of 'Man as a sinner' in relationship to the perfection of God - Humility and the virtue of religion - Creator/creature relationship in evangelization

In this episode, Jason and Dr. Smith talk about the importance of natural theology and what it has to offer sacred theology. We discuss: -How does natural theology operate? What is its function? -Demonstrating the existence of God -Rational certainty or at least reasonable/ probable affirmation -Principle of causality and secondary causes -the natural world does not explain itself sufficiently -Implications - Immutable, Incorporeal, Eternal - God is omnicausal, omnipotent, omniscient -Benefits: (a) supports Christian worldview; (b) aids our learning about God; (c) resources for contemplation

Either human sexuality is left "to the arbitrary will of man" or God has given it a design and it must be respected. In this episode Jason and Dr. Bulzacchelli discuss the document itself. We cover: -The competency of the Magisterium to make such a declaration -The "principle of totality" -Fidelity to God's design -The decision to abstain from the marital act -The moral difference between a contraceptive mentality used with licit means of avoiding birth compared to using artificial contraception for grave/serious reasons -An appropriate use of science -The family apostolate and witness of married couples

Humanae Vitae: 50 Years Later by Jason Gale