This book seeks to examine five challenges that our changing world will increasingly confront in the aftermath of Covid-19, namely poverty, migration and refugees, race and religion, the threat of war, and national morality.
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TBA
Robin Arthur is a newspaper editor and a journalist who won the Pan-Asia Journalism award in 1995. This book is a sequel to Science and the God Elusion, which he released in June 2019. He has written several other books including Can the Poor Inherit the Earth, which is an opinion on Third World development paradigms and which won acclaim from UN organizations including UNESCO and UNDP. His first novel, The Island of Habarra, provides a glimpse into the sad narrative of expatriate workers who leave families and home behind to work in the oil-rich Persian Gulf. In Canada, Arthur worked to develop an appreciation of interfaith dialogue, and between 2011 and 2016 convened three very successfully staged Spiritual Diversity Conferences, paving the way for the establishment of an Interfaith Council in the city of Halifax.
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Paradox it is at the very heart of the Gospel message. The Trinity, the Incarnation, the Cross and Resurrection, and the problem of evil are but a few examples of paradoxes of faith and reason. How can God be three in one? How can God be man? How can Jesus who is “the life” die on a Cross? How can we hold that God exists and is good when there is so much suffering in the world? This book seeks to resolve questions such as these, which can cause the would-be believer to reject the faith and even the most devout of believers to stumble into perplexity.
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“Dr. Shalina Stilley’s book about paradoxes in the Catholic faith is brilliant! I highly recommend it as a gift you could give to both faithful and doubting Catholics alike, illuminating, as it does, areas of the faith that may be puzzling. Written in a clear, concrete style, it is what I call ‘theology for everyone.'” – Dr. Ronda Chervin is a professor of philosophy, writer of numerous Catholic books and a Catholic Media Presenter
Shalina Stilley was born and raised in Flagstaff, Arizona and converted to Catholicism in 1992 after reading the writings of St. John of the Cross and St. Teresa of Avila. She has a master’s in theology and a doctorate in philosophy. Her interests include Aquinas, Maritain, ethics, spiritual theology, and philosophy of religion. She has taught at Marquette University, Conception Seminary College, Beltei International University, Paññāsāstra University of Cambodia, and John Paul the Great Catholic University. She is a canonical consecrated virgin, occasional overseas missionary, human-trafficking abolitionist, and outdoor enthusiast.
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In Rise and Fall of the American Empire, Dr. Richard Bishirjian writes that the country that was new in 1789, when its Constitutional order was ratified, no longer exists and that the Constitution intended to order and organize American politics has been challenged to a breaking point. Though specialists have observed the growth in power of the American presidency since the Great Depression, the first sign of an “imperial” Office of the President became visible on the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Where before our Presidents were chosen to execute the powers of office, JFK’s assassination revealed that Americans had begun to seek Emperors to represent the imperial nation in history. Dr. Richard Bishirjian’s historical analysis walks us from a time when Americans consented to be governed in a limited Republic to the present day when Americans are ruled by an administrative state composed of unelected experts.
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“Dr. Bishirjian tells the uncomfortable truth about today’s America in clear unvarnished form. It is sobering but compelling reading for all Americans.” – Richard K. Vedder, an American economist, historian, author, and columnist.
Richard J. Bishirjian was Founding President and Professor of Government at Yorktown University from 2000-2016. He earned a B.A. from the University of Pittsburgh and a Ph.D. in Government and International Studies from the University of Notre Dame.
Dr. Bishirjian was Gerhart Niemeyer’s teaching assistant at Notre Dame. He was an assistant professor in the Department of Politics at the University of Dallas in Texas, chairman of the Political Science Department at the College of New Rochelle in New York and founder of Yorktown University where he served as President and Professor of government from 2000-2016.
He served as a political appointee in the Reagan Administration and in the Administration of George H. W. Bush.
He is the editor of A Public Philosophy Reader and author of three books, The Development of Political Theory, The Conservative Rebellion and The Coming Death and Future Resurrection of American Higher Education. His most recent work, “Coda,” is a novel published by En Route Books. His most recent three scholarly studies are Ennobling Encounters, Rise and Fall of the American Empire, and Conscience and Power. Ennobling Encounters was published by En Route Books in September, 2021.
Dr. Bishirjian’s essays have been published in Forbes, The Political Science Reviewer, Modern Age, Review of Politics, Chronicles, the American Spectator and The Imaginative Conservative.
For the full story, see Dick’s website.
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Loneliness, Aloneness, Euthanasia, Meaning, Anorexia, Brain Death, Conversion, and the Death and Resurrection of Christ
Francis Etheredge returns to the subject of bioethics with essays on loneliness, aloneness, euthanasia, meaning, anorexia and purpose, brain death and the life and death of Jesus Christ. Why? Because man, male and female, one in body and soul, suffers as a religious being. To be able, therefore, to respond mercifully and constructively to a variety of human wounds, opening up, again and again, the possibilities of life, we need to recognize that the whole of human personhood entails being-in-relationship: that man is a social being and exists in relation to God and neighbor: the God who comes to show us the truth-in-love that heals and calls us to share what we have received with our neighbor.
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Dr. Pravin Thevathasan: Biography and Foreword: “The Humanizing Value of Experience”
What is in a Title? Acknowledgements and the Blurb: Man is a ‘religious being’ and the wholeness of human nature; Neither naïve science nor superseded philosophy and theology; The unexpected relevance of an Old Testament “moment”; The challenge of joy: A way forward
Chapter One: Part I of III: Loneliness to “Aloneness”: Loneliness-in-context: What is loneliness? The stripped octopus grows suckers; The social context of the times in which we live: Loneliness leading to “aloneness”
Chapter Two: Part II of III: Loneliness Leads to Euthanasia: Loneliness leading to death; Loneliness, euthanasia, and the trauma of death; On the nature of death; Law, however unfounded on the good of life, leads to law; Doctor or what? The words we use: To smooth acceptance or to reveal reality
Chapter Three: Part III of III: Meaning and Word: In the words of Mother Teresa; The reality of suffering: to suffer or to suffer; Is this the suffering described by T. S. Eliot? The Way of the Word of God: Starting Points
Chapter Four: Anorexia and the Pull of Purpose: Social Context: Healing and modern weight loss; Circles within circles: Spiraling down or spiraling; Womanhood? A narrow vision? More personally: The interiority; Naturalism and its unresolved questions
Chapter Five: Death and the Wholeness of Human Personhood: To deliberately stop the heart; Death and life: their interrelationship: two quotations; A test is limited to what it can do: it reveals and conceals; A test result is a partial account of a whole; Life and death interpret each other
Chapter Six: Brain Death and the Life and Death of Christ: Can the Living Be Dead? The natural law prompts us to do good; Do life and death interpret each other? The philosophical interface: between life and death; The Life and Death of Christ; In conclusion: Life and death are ordered to each other
Chapter Seven: Conversion is “another resurrection”: The word of God: Grace builds on nature; Effort or fruit; Conversion: A change in direction
Epilogue: Limitations, Christ and the Praise of God
“[W]e are, literally, conceived through relationship; both in-relationship to our parents and to God who, in the first instant of fertilization, brings the soul to exist in union with the body. In other words, when a child is conceived, there is not a cell mass, a plant or any other kind of life; there is, rather, a child of the parents and of God. Thus, the human loss, whether through miscarriage or abortion, is a suffering in an existing relationship; and, therefore, death entails relationship, just as life does, in that the relationship transcends death just as a child’s life transcends biological ingredients and implies the action of God.” – Francis Etheredge, referencing Catechism of the Catholic Church and Pope St. Paul VI, Humanae Vitae, 13, Qtd. in American Church Union
“Life Lived Fully,” a Review of Reaching for the Resurrection: A Pastoral Bioethics by Christine Sunderland, Catholic author. To read the review, click here.
Pravin Thevathasan, editor Catholic Medical Quarterly [click here for the review on CMQ]
In the last few years, I have enjoyed reading the works of Francis Etheredge. He has the ability to communicate bioethical truths in a way that is interesting and easy to follow. This book is no exception.
For Christians, our bioethical reflections need to take place in the light of the Resurrection, says the author. Even in our deepest suffering, the Risen Christ is with us. It is Christ in his Sacred Passion who heralds his Resurrection. Our sufferings when united with those of Christ brings meaning to our afflictions. The author reflects on his own sufferings. It was the Holy Face of Jesus that brought meaning to his suffering.
Our transformation in Christ leads us to share in the Resurrection life even in this world. It is the Incarnation which allows us to live a life of intimacy with God. Only in this way can we ultimately make sense of our suffering.
We live in a post-Christian world that rejects the Incarnation. Life is thus made ultimately meaningless. Suffering is meaningless. Little wonder then that there is so much acceptance of abortion and euthanasia.
The author calls us to cherish life from fertilisation till natural death. He also reminds us that we are beings meant to live in relationship with each other and with God, who is perfect relationship. If we get rid of relationship from our lives, we become atomised individuals. And when atomised individuals feel they are a burden on society, they will request euthanasia.
I especially enjoyed reading the author’s reflection on the difference between loneliness and aloneness. The lonely person is the one who is cut off from human relationships and from God. In contrast, the person who is alone is in relationship. Indeed, aloneness is needed for us to build the most important relationship of all, that with God. In our aloneness, we are called to reflect on God’s Word. It is this aloneness that rids us of loneliness. I also found the discussion on conversion helpful. For a certain kind of Protestant, conversion is what happens at a given moment. For Catholics, conversion is a life-long process. Our conversion requires us to be humble and repentant.
In summary, a really useful series of reflections on some aspects of pastoral bioethics.”
Reaching for the Resurrection: A Pastoral Bioethics, a Review by Dr. Moira McQueen LLB, MDiv, PhD, DSL (Hon.), Executive Director, Canadian Catholic Bioethics Institute, Toronto, Canada
Through sharing some of his own intensely felt experiences, Francis Etheredge leads the reader to reflect on some current bioethical and social challenges such as euthanasia and anorexia. He is concerned that feelings of alienation and worthlessness, as well as fear of being a burden to others, perhaps lead some to consider suicide or, in countries where the practice is legal, euthanasia.
Etheredge shows the essential difference between loneliness and aloneness: the first, in extreme forms, can lead people to want to end their lives, while the second is necessary for mature psychological and spiritual growth, both personally and in our capacity for relationships. He strongly encourages us to allow the Word of God into our lives as the true source of sanity and healing, the Word of a God ever open to loving us into the recognition of our innate dignity and worth, which we do not always ‘see.’ He tells us we have to be humble, admitting our weaknesses and asking for help, and here the author recounts the many, futile paths he trod before God’s Word became a ‘lamp to his feet,’ guiding him to an acceptance of the realities of life and leading him into a loving relationship.
Etheredge’s psychological and spiritual journey clearly influences his pastoral response to current life-challenging questions in bioethics, including a consideration of the criteria for brain death. His bioethical critique is valuable, but this reader sees as even more valuable the honest portrayal of himself as a ‘lost soul,’ who in time came to see that, “… wrongdoing had its own dynamic and kept a person prisoner.”(P. 75) He admits to experiencing desperate loneliness until eventually released, in effect ‘resurrected,’ by the power of the Word of God. While psychological help is, of course, important, his main message is to be open to that ‘Word,’ trusting in the God who forgives unconditionally, who sets sinners free and, most of all, loves us back into life when we invite him to enter ‘under our roof.’
Etheredge’s conversion shows that when God penetrates hearts, the meaning of both life and death become clearer, and his journey will speak to many people of our day who sadly experience similar life-threatening loneliness and feelings of worthlessness, as well as to those who minister to them. The truth of God’s love for His people lies, to me, at the heart of pastoral bioethics, and is my main ‘take away’ from this wonderfully succinct book.
“Suffering, often coupled with loneliness, can lead people onto destructive, even fatal paths. While this is well known, the religio-spiritual element is commonly negated in bioethical discourse. Arguing from the basis that every person is a religious being, Francis Etheredge in Reaching for the Resurrection: A Pastoral Bioethics offers his first-hand experiences of suffering and loneliness as a source for reflection. He describes an ‘ontological death’ that occurs when meaning and desire to live are lost. Yet, this need not be the end. As was the case for Etheredge, the Paschal mystery – Christ’s passion, death, and resurrection – not only provides hope amid suffering but indeed participation in God’s very own life. Replete with personal testimony, Reaching for the Resurrection presents a concise counternarrative to today’s secular and increasingly nihilistic approach to bioethical challenges.” – Eric Manuel Torres, BHlthSci, MOrthoptics (LaTrobe), MNSc (Melb), GradDipTheol, MTS (CTC/UDiv), GradCertEdu [Specialist Inclusive] (Deakin), CertIIIBAdmin (S.Russo), AOBR, MOA, RN, Assoc. Member CMAV. Catholic moral theologian and bioethicist
“In Reaching for the Resurrection, Francis Etheredge shines light on the darkness of today’s materialist assumptions that lead to loneliness, anorexia, suicide, abortion, and euthanasia. For when we reach for the resurrection of Christ, we are resurrected, made anew, in this life and the next. We see that our Creator can re-create us, re-form us, redeem us, giving our lives meaning and purpose, ‘life to the full.’ We see that faith and reason inform one another. Profound and practical, using personal testimony. Highly recommended for pastors as well as those desiring a deeper understanding of who we are and are meant to be, created by the God of love, in His image.” – Christine Sunderland, award-winning novelist and author of The Magdalene Mystery, soon to be reissued by Enroute Books and Media
“This book offers a novel approach to bioethical topics by including pastoral questions and theological insights.” – Rev. Dr. Joseph Tham, LC, family physician and doctor of bioethics, a Fellow of the UNESCO Chair in Bioethics and Human Rights, and a bioethical author and lecturer at the Regina Apostolorum, Rome.
“It’s terrific! Brilliant! Love it! Fresh insights into the worst problems of our times! What a glorious story and book. I love it. I want to give it to someone in despair!” – Dr. Ronda Chervin, Professor Emerita Holy Apostles College and Seminary
Mr. Francis Etheredge is married with eight children, plus three in heaven.
Francis is currently a freelance writer and speaker and his “Posts” on LinkedIn can be viewed here. Poetry; short articles; autobiographical blog; excerpts from books; and “Philosophize: A Ten Minute Write.”
For a list of all of Francis’ books published by En Route Books and Media, click here.
See Francis’ other books, too, entitled Scripture: A Unique Word, From Truth and truth: Volume I-Faithful Reason, From Truth and truth: Volume II: Faith and Reason in Dialogue, From Truth and truth: Volume III: Faith is Married Reason.
He has earned a BA Div (Hons), MA in Catholic Theology, PGC in Biblical Studies, PGC in Higher Education, and an MA in Marriage and Family (Distinction).
Enjoy these additional articles by Francis Etheredge:
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This book draws from organizational change management principles to examine Teresa of Avila’s 16th-century reform of the Carmelite Order. During the last twenty years of her life, Teresa addressed the problems she saw in the Carmelite monasteries of her day, including ineffective administration, overcrowding, and laxity in spiritual practices. By returning to the original purpose and written Rule of the Carmelite founders, Teresa launched a reform of the Carmelite Order using principles similar to those used in change management and information technology (IT) adoption today. This book examines her reform in light of change management theory and practice, in order to shed light on what made her reform successful and how we might apply her approach to the management of change in spiritual and secular organizations today.
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Delphine Chui, Catholic Women in Business (May 11, 2022), click here.
“Countering a view of saints and mystics as detached from the nitty-gritty of life, Dr. Kristina Olsen in Principles of Change: Teresa of Avila’s Carmelite Reform and Insights from Change Management shows Teresa of Avila very much involved in addressing relational problems and resistance to reform in the Carmelite communities she founded. Spirituality is an interdisciplinary discipline, but Olsen takes spirituality studies in a new direction by drawing from the field of business administration. What emerges is a much richer appreciation of Teresa of Avila’s giftedness as Olsen highlights the mystic’s talent for organizational management and reform. The resonance between contemporary efforts to motivate people to embrace new technologies and Teresa’s approach to inviting her nuns to reform is striking. This innovative work is a significant contribution to Teresian studies.” – Raymond Studzinski, O.S.B., Ph.D., Director, Doctor of Ministry Program in Spirituality, School of Theology and Religious Studies, The Catholic University of America
“Principles of Change: Teresa of Avila’s Carmelite Reform and Insights from Change Management by Dr. Kristina Olsen is a surprisingly timely book that teaches us how knowledge and religion have existed together for centuries. The book cogently describes how Teresa utilized what we would call ‘organizational change tenets’ to make major changes in the Carmelite monasteries. Teresa addressed problems not unlike our own today: incompetent management, lax morals, lack of clear direction. Dr. Olsen shows how the strategies that Teresa employed can and are being used to encourage workers to adopt and accept new technology. That includes fostering a favorable attitude toward both technology and change, seeing the benefits of adopting new technology. The author draws on scholarship on ‘planned behavior,’ managing resistance, innovation, and ‘buy-in.’ Dr. Olsen knows her topic. For several years, she has taught Carmelite spirituality and other subjects at Holy Apostles College and Seminary in Cromwell, CT. Her Doctor of Business Administration studies culminated in her dissertation on ‘The Role of Attitude in the Acceptance and Adoption of Information Technology.’ Principles of Change shows that leadership, knowledge, and spirituality can be compatible. Indeed, they may be just what society needs today.” – James P. Gelatt, Ph.D., Professor, Doctor of Business Administration, University of Maryland Global Campus
“Kristina Olsen writes with passion and deep knowledge: the reforms of St. Teresa of Avila were profound; thorough; and long-lasting in religious terms. Olsen, however, illumines something else, the principles upon which the 16th-century reformer relied are redolent of the best practices of modern innovation. In extracting from ancient practice the enduring principles of reform, Olsen gives us a valuable contribution to the literature of organizational theory and a helpful aid in governing, and reforming, the non-profits and religious organizations of today.” – Leo S. Mackay, Jr Ph.D., LL.D, Vice Chairman, Board of Regents, Concordia Theological Seminary – Ft. Wayne
“This is a fascinating book. Relating areas most of us never think to combine, Kristina Olsen not only provides fresh insights into the achievements of St. Teresa of Avila, but also offers a paradigm for creative ventures the reader might be hoping to establish.” – Dr. Ronda Chervin is an Emerita Professor of Philosophy at Holy Apostles and Seminary, author of numerous Catholic books and a Media Presenter
Dr. Kristina Olsen has a Ph.D. in Theology/Spirituality from Catholic University of America, a D.B.A. in Business Administration from the University of Maryland, and an M.S. in Computer Science from Northwestern University. She also has certifications in Project Management (PMP) and Change Management (PCP). She is retired from Bell Laboratories, where she was a Member of the Technical Staff. Currently she works in the Office of Innovation and Technology at the City of Philadelphia. She also teaches courses in Theology, Business and Information Technology at several universities. She is a member of the Secular Order of Discalced Carmelites (OCDS).
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When an evangelical minister asked him why one would believe that Jesus is present — body, blood, soul, and divinity — in communion, Dr. Keys began an intensive study into the ancient Christian belief of what is now often termed the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. This book is a result of that quest and presents the scriptural, historical, and even miraculous basis for such a belief.
“The author’s profound devotion to the Eucharist comes across plainly in the pages of this text. In a clear and straightforward way, Dr. David Keys welcomes the reader along a step-by-step journey into a deeper appreciation of this mystery of faith. He places the tools of logic and science at the service of a faith seeking understanding. His explanation of the sacrament’s meaning and application to daily life inspires a deeper love for Jesus Christ truly present in the Eucharist.” – Fr. John O’Brien, S.T.D., Academic Dean, St. John’s Seminary in Camarillo, CA
“Dr. David Keys explains the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist in a comprehensive and comprehensible way. A must-read for anyone desiring to understand the Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation.” – Dr. Sebastian Mahfood, OP, co-author with Dr. Ronda Chervin of Catholic Realism: A Framework for the Refutation of Atheism and the Evangelization of Atheists
Dr. David Keys has a PhD in physics from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri (1984), and a master’s degree in theology from Franciscan University, Steubenville, Ohio (2012). For thirty-eight years, he worked in the field of Medical Physics, being involved in the physics of radiation for diagnostic imaging and for the treatment of cancer patients. Having completed his degree in theology, he has now left Medical Physics and has become a Catholic speaker and author with an interest in the synthesizing of science with religion.
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