Is Catholicism purely an interior set of convictions? In this provocative study, Thomas Storck suggests that a specifically Catholic culture can arise within a secular and pluralistic society. That culture will both challenge and nourish the surrounding society only if Christian truth is incarnated in the manners, customs, and traditions of the community.

The Catholic Milieu

Religion & Spirituality

Storck, Thomas

Christian Books & Bibles

Christendom Press

I Believe in God the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth: Studies in the Theology of Creation Volume 1

Dougherty, Beth

Dougherty, Shawn

Lazar, Gideon

Gracy, Lance

Čapeta, Vito

Valerio, David

St. Basil Institute Press

Which Gospel are you following? In the United States, the Prosperity&nbsp;Gospel's tenets, spread widely by many Protestant preachers, have crept into the Catholic Church. Where did the "Prosperity" Gospel come from? And how has it embedded itself so deeply in this country? In this book, Thomas Storck demonstrates the deep roots that the unrestrained desire for gain has in this country. He argues that the exclusion of serious religious discourse from American public life has led to the public square being emptied of all transcendence, reducing every aspect of social life to material gain: politics, the economy, education, science, the arts, and even religion itself. How many of we Americans' ordinary activities are undertaken solely for worldly comfort--with no reference to anything beyond this life, or even to our society's common good? How deeply have we ourselves been affected by the allures of riches and wealth? Here is a book that will expose one of the heresies that most vilely distorts the teachings of Christ: the Prosperity Gospel. Our treasure can only be found in heaven, not on earth. We must know the culture we live in that affects our daily living so that we can strive to be children of light and protect ourselves against the temptations of our times so that His will can be done on earth, as it is in heaven. &nbsp;

The Prosperity Gospel: How Greed and Bad Philosophy Distorted Christ's Teachings

TAN Books

From Christendom to Americanism and Beyond: The Long, Jagged Trail to a Postmodern Void

From Christendom to Americanism and Beyond describes the momentous changes that occurred in the European cultural orbit from the end of the Middle Ages until the mid 20th century. During this period the Catholic unity of the West—what rightly was called Christendom—was lost, and the social order came to be organized on an entirely new basis. Instead of a society that attempted to arrange all its activity and institutions in a hierarchy directed toward God, now politics could become merely a series of power grabs, economic activity an aimless and unabashed striving for riches, and the work of artists simply a means of self-expression. Not only were the institutions and customs that had previously sought to guide human activity to the glory of God and the common good destroyed, but this destruction was justified—even celebrated—in the new theories and philosophies that arose during this time. Readers who want to understand the broad trends and movements that underlie historical events will find this book an excellent guide to the rise of modernity.
 “Thomas Storck has quite possibly contributed more than any other living writer to the articulation, defense, and contemporary application of Catholic Social Teaching. But his incisive work on broader philosophical, cultural, and historical subjects is not known nearly as well as it should be, a misfortune this book will help remedy. Christendom, Modernity, and Americanism—among the most elusive quarry in the world of ideas—are fatally attractive, yet rarely captured in a convincing analysis. In these essays Storck shows that he has the wide-ranging thoughtfulness, command of detail, and synthetic vision to pull this off. Storck’s cultural and philosophical examination of the trajectory of recent centuries is invaluable for all who would understand more deeply the complicated and contradictory Western world we live in.”—PETER KWASNIEWSKI, Wyoming Catholic College, author of Resurgent in the Midst of Crisis
 “I am stretched and challenged whenever I read anything by Thomas Storck. In this fine collection of essays, he examines the many streams of thought and convictions that have led our contemporary world away from its philosophical and religious roots into post-modernity. Particularly in the final chapter he brings this all together to describe the plight we, our children, and our grand-children now face. As Joseph Pearce states in his excellent foreword, ‘He must be heard and heeded.’”—MARCUS GRODI, founder and president of the Coming Home Network International, author of What Must I do to be Saved?
 “Drawing upon the tradition of Belloc, Chesterton, and Dawson, Thomas Storck offers a compelling re-interpretation of developments within the Catholic Church since the Second Vatican Council. Moving beyond the stale, false alternatives of liberal and conservative, Democrat and Republican, Storck argues for the necessity of a distinctly Catholic social vision predicated upon the organic unity of family, faith, economy, and culture. These essays are a true breath of fresh air offering new possibilities for an authentic public Catholicism open to the world yet committed to the first principles of the faith.”—CHRISTOPHER SHANNON, Christendom College, co-author of The Past as Pilgrimage

Politics & Social Sciences

Philosophy

Angelico Press

From Christendom to Americanism and Beyond describes the momentous changes that occurred in the European cultural orbit from the end of the Middle Ages until the mid 20th century. During this period the Catholic unity of the West--what rightly was called Christendom--was lost, and the social order came to be organized on an entirely new basis. Instead of a society that attempted to arrange all its activity and institutions in a hierarchy directed toward God, now politics could become merely a series of power grabs, economic activity an aimless and unabashed striving for riches, and the work of artists simply a means of self-expression. Not only were the institutions and customs that had previously sought to guide human activity to the glory of God and the common good destroyed, but this destruction was justified--even celebrated--in the new theories and philosophies that arose during this time. Readers who want to understand the broad trends and movements that underlie historical events will find this book an excellent guide to the rise of modernity. "Thomas Storck has quite possibly contributed more than any other living writer to the articulation, defense, and contemporary application of Catholic Social Teaching. But his incisive work on broader philosophical, cultural, and historical subjects is not known nearly as well as it should be, a misfortune this book will help remedy. Christendom, Modernity, and Americanism--among the most elusive quarry in the world of ideas--are fatally attractive, yet rarely captured in a convincing analysis. In these essays Storck shows that he has the wide-ranging thoughtfulness, command of detail, and synthetic vision to pull this off. Storck's cultural and philosophical examination of the trajectory of recent centuries is invaluable for all who would understand more deeply the complicated and contradictory Western world we live in."--PETER KWASNIEWSKI, Wyoming Catholic College, author of Resurgent in the Midst of Crisis "I am stretched and challenged whenever I read anything by Thomas Storck. In this fine collection of essays, he examines the many streams of thought and convictions that have led our contemporary world away from its philosophical and religious roots into post-modernity. Particularly in the final chapter he brings this all together to describe the plight we, our children, and our grand-children now face. As Joseph Pearce states in his excellent foreword, 'He must be heard and heeded.'"--MARCUS GRODI, founder and president of the Coming Home Network International, author of What Must I do to be Saved? "Drawing upon the tradition of Belloc, Chesterton, and Dawson, Thomas Storck offers a compelling re-interpretation of developments within the Catholic Church since the Second Vatican Council. Moving beyond the stale, false alternatives of liberal and conservative, Democrat and Republican, Storck argues for the necessity of a distinctly Catholic social vision predicated upon the organic unity of family, faith, economy, and culture. These essays are a true breath of fresh air offering new possibilities for an authentic public Catholicism open to the world yet committed to the first principles of the faith."--CHRISTOPHER SHANNON, Christendom College, co-author of The Past as Pilgrimage THOMAS STORCK, a convert to the Catholic faith, is a social and cultural philosopher and historian who has written widely concerning the intersection of Catholic faith and culture. He is the author of three previous books, The Catholic Milieu, Foundations of a Catholic Political Order, and Christendom and the West, as well as numerous essays and articles; and is a member of the editorial boards of The Chesterton Review and Ethika Politika.

Angelico PR

An Economics of Justice and Charity: Catholic Social Teaching, Its Development and Contemporary Relevance

Since Pope Leo XIII’s landmark encyclical Rerum Novarum of 1891, a significant part of Catholic social doctrine has focused on man’s economic life and the challenge of building a well-ordered society rooted in correct first principles and animated by the twin virtues of justice and charity. The Church has boldly engaged the ideologies of the modern age—not only anarchism, communism, and fascism, but also the seductive alternatives of liberalism and libertarianism. Understanding and applying Catholic social doctrine presents special difficulties. The sheer mass of material is a steep mountain to climb for the non-expert. Developments over time and the different styles of papal authors can give an impression of inconsistency or even contradiction. Agenda-driven commentators ignore or distort whatever they dislike, creating an ersatz magisterium. An Economics of Justice and Charity offers readers a compact, objective summary of the economic teaching of the Popes from Leo XIII to Francis that makes manifest its inner unity, its intended authority, and its perennial applicability. It bears witness to the Church’s living history of ethical wisdom, care for workers and the poor, and urgent desire to “penetrate and perfect the temporal order with the spirit of the Gospel.” “This book should be read by anyone who wants to understand the Catholic concept of social justice, particularly how it applies to the realms of economics and politics. Thomas Storck has delivered a concise explanation showing how the Church’s social teaching has been clear and consistent.”—DAVID W. COONEY, Editor, Practical Distributism “In 1991, St. John Paul II encouraged a New Evangelization that included ‘a proclamation of the Church’s social doctrine.’ In the modern world, however, rarely have these teachings been presented holistically. Thomas Storck’s commitment to thinking with the mind of the Church and masterful curation of the best of the social tradition make him a notable successor to his intellectual heroes from the golden age of social thought.”—RICHARD ALEMAN, Editor-in-chief, The Distributist Review “An Economics of Justice and Charity comes at a time when both the reality and the ideology of capitalism are increasingly being questioned. Its critique of capitalism stands outside the usual left/right dichotomy, providing an opportunity for a deeper analysis of our economic and social woes. For those new to the Church’s ‘best kept secret,’ Storck has produced a clear but philosophically sophisticated introduction to the major contributions and ideas within this tradition.”—CHARLES M. A. CLARK, Professor of Economics, St John’s University “This is a superb exposition of the major social encyclicals, both in their historical development and in their application to our current situation. For those not familiar with the teachings, it provides a brief but brilliant introduction; for those who have studied these texts, Mr. Storck raises many interesting questions. Be sure not to skip the appendices, which shed new light on usury (the besetting sin of finance capitalism) and put forward a refutation of the neo-liberal interpretation of Centesimus Annus.”—JOHN MÉDAILLE, University of Dallas

Business & Money

Economics

An Economics of Justice and Charity offers readers a compact, objective summary of the economic teaching of the Popes from Leo XIII to Francis that makes manifest the inner unity and perennial applicability of Catholic social doctrine. It bears witness to the Church's desire to "perfect the temporal order with the spirit of the Gospel."

John M daille maintains that philosophers-beginning with the consummate dialectician Socrates who gives Euthyphro a thorough drubbing-have illegitimately stifled the special access that theologian-poets have to ultimate truths at the heart of all human experience. Thomas Storck objects: the power to see reality as it is, to discover principles and arrive at conclusions, is as natural to man as breathing and walking; after all, even Scripture says we have no excuse if we fail to recognize God in his works, if we fail to yield to the testimony of miracles and the evidence for revelation. But what is reason, after all? Are there even facts apart from judgments, judgments apart from interpretations, and interpretations apart from worldviews developed through the stories we learn and tell one another? Back and forth it goes, as Storck defends philosophy, objectivity, and Thomism, while M daille seeks to expose their vulnerable flanks. In a world of sound bites and short attention spans, how rare is an amiable, penetrating, sustained dialogue between two thinkers of great intelligence and undoubted good will, who, though disagreeing about many things, are still drawn back, again and again, to the central mystery of Christ, supreme Logos and sacrificial Lamb?

Theology: Mythos or Logos?: A Dialogue on Faith, Reason, and History

Medaille, John

Christendom and the West: Essays on Culture, Society and History

Four Faces Press

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