tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7321349.post115509036832669035..comments2024-03-18T22:21:33.261-07:00Comments on The Debate Link: Old NewsDavid Schraubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04946653376744012423noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7321349.post-1155141861516527442006-08-09T09:44:00.000-07:002006-08-09T09:44:00.000-07:00I looked around like you suggested, and I didn't f...I looked around like you suggested, and I didn't find any posts that were both a) distinctively Catholic and b) particularly insightful. If you have any examples, I'll check them out. It's refreshing to find religious commentary that actually concerns itself with the plight of poor people instead of the latest threat to sexual morality, though.<BR/><BR/>Aside from being shocked at the arrogance of assuming that the Jews, Muslims, International Relations theory, game theory, the entire diplomatic establishment, the political leadership of every country involved, and the citizens on both sides misunderstand their own affairs because <I>they have the wrong religious perspective</I>, my tentative position boils down to this (excerpted from a <A HREF="http://disenchantedidealist.blogspot.com/2006/08/arrogance-of-catholic-legal-theory.html" REL="nofollow">longer discussion</A> at my own blog):<BR/><BR/>"With a few exceptions like the Talmudic tradition and perhaps law itself, there aren't many systems of thought that have struggled more intensely or for a longer period of time with the nature of the law than the Church. In fact, I'd be surprised if Catholicism <I>didn't</I> have something useful to say on the subject, just as I'd be surprised if Buddhism's introspective tradition didn't have anything useful to say about psychology. Still, I'm confident that there are issues on which Catholic teachings are worthless and even dangerous, and people are going to have an extremely difficult time convincing me to adopt a particular position simply because a Catholic theologian or scholar supports it... [I]f the posts I looked through are any indication, there's a danger of that with CLT."<BR/><BR/>Feel free to prove me wrong, though. If you remember some posts from MOJ (or elsewhere) that you think could change my mind, I'd be interested in seeing them.Disenchanted Davehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18420314835376739894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7321349.post-1155099016157376552006-08-08T21:50:00.000-07:002006-08-08T21:50:00.000-07:00Catholic Legal Theory is actually very vigorous an...Catholic Legal Theory is actually very vigorous and very interesting. I highly encourage you to check out <A HREF="http://www.mirrorofjustice.com/mirrorofjustice/" REL="nofollow">Mirror of Justice</A> (where Professor Araujo, among others, co-blogs). It's a first rate blog (even if this particular post wasn't).David Schraubhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04946653376744012423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7321349.post-1155098761643026252006-08-08T21:46:00.000-07:002006-08-08T21:46:00.000-07:00I think you're basically right that he didn't say ...I think you're basically right that he didn't say anything novel, and I think you correctly identified the source of most Israelis'/Jews' fear. I just think that it's amusing that 1) there's such a thing as "Catholic Legal Theory" and 2) someone thinks it can explain a conflict between Jews and Muslims.<BR/><BR/>I also doubt that a legal theory based on lowercase-c catholic (i.e. universal) values can really understand difference all that well, since assuming that your values are universally aspired to is a good way to disguise, ignore, and generally misunderstand the other. Uppercase-c Catholicism in particular doesn't deal with diffrence very well (the technical term for differences with the Pope's beliefs is "heresy"). And now that I think about it, the last time the Catholics were heavily involved in that region, it didn't go so well, either. The Crusades arent' exactly anyone's favorite historical period.Disenchanted Davehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18420314835376739894noreply@blogger.com