As the twentieth century opened, American intellectuals grew increasingly sympathetic to Pragmatism and empirical methods in the social sciences. The Progressive program as a whole―in the form of Pragmatism, education, modern sociology, and nationalism―seemed to be in agreement on one thing: everything was in flux. The dogma and "absolute truth" of the Church were archaisms, unsuited to modern American citizenship and at odds with the new public philosophy being forged by such intellectuals as John Dewey, William James, and the New Republic magazine. Catholics saw this new public philosophy as at least partly an attack on them. Focusing on the Catholic intellectual critique of modernity during the period immediately before and after the turn of the twentieth century, this provocative and original book examines how the Catholic Church attempted to retain its identity in an age of pluralism. It shows a Church fundamentally united on major issues―quite unlike the present-day Catholic Church, which has been the site of a low-intensity civil war since the close of the Second Vatican Council in 1965. Defenders of the faith opposed James, Dewey, and other representatives of Pragmatism as it played out in ethics, education, and nationalism. Their goals were to found an economic and political philosophy based on natural law, to appropriate what good they could find in Progressivism to the benefit of the Church, and to make America a Catholic country. The Church Confronts Modernity explores how the decidedly nonpluralistic institution of Christianity responded to an increasingly pluralistic intellectual environment. In a culture whose chief value was pluralism, they insisted on the uniqueness of the Church and the need for making value judgments based on what they considered a sound philosophy of humanity. In neither capitulating to the new creed nor retreating into a self-righteous isolation, American Catholic intellectuals thus laid the groundwork for a half-century of intellectual vitality.

The Church Confronts Modernity: Catholic Intellectuals and the Progressive Era

History

Thomas E. Woods, Jr.

World

Columbia University Press

The Politically Incorrect Guide to American History

Americas

Blackstone Audiobooks, Inc.

Ask a college student today what he knows about the Catholic Church and his answer might come down to one word: "corruption." But that one word should be "civilization." Western civilization has given us the miracles of modern science, the wealth of free-market economics, the security of the rule of law, a unique sense of human rights and freedom, charity as a virtue, splendid art and music, a philosophy grounded in reason, and innumerable other gifts that we take for granted as the wealthiest and most powerful civilization in history. But what is the ultimate source of these gifts? Bestselling author and professor Thomas E. Woods, Jr. provides the long neglected answer: the Catholic Church. Woods’s story goes far beyond the familiar tale of monks copying manuscripts and preserving the wisdom of classical antiquity. In How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization, you’ll learn: · Why modern science was born in the Catholic Church · How Catholic priests developed the idea of free-market economics five hundred years before Adam Smith · How the Catholic Church invented the university · Why what you know about the Galileo affair is wrong · How Western law grew out of Church canon law · How the Church humanized the West by insisting on the sacredness of all human life No institution has done more to shape Western civilization than the two-thousand-year-old Catholic Church—and in ways that many of us have forgotten or never known. How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization is essential reading for recovering this lost truth.

How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization

Business & Money

Blackstone Audiobooks

From modern economics to Western art and m usic, the Catholic Church has contributed more to the development of Western civilization than any other institution--but rarely gets credit for it.

Regnery History

“The problem in America isn’t so much what people don’t know; the problem is what people think they know that just ain’t so.” —Thomas E. Woods Most Americans trust that their history professors and high school teachers will give students honest and accurate information. The Politically Incorrect Guide to American Historymakes it quite clear that liberal professors have misinformed our children for generations. Professor Thomas E. Woods, Jr. takes on the most controversial moments of American history and exposes how history books are merely a series of clichés drafted by academics who are heavily biased against God, democracy, patriotism, capitalism and most American family values. Woods reveals the truth behind many of today's prominent myths.... MYTH: The First Amendment prohibits school prayer MYTH: The New Deal created great prosperity MYTH: What the Supreme Court says, goes From the real American “revolutionaries” to the reality of labor unions, The Politically Incorrect Guide to American History is all you need for the truth about America—objective and unvarnished.

Regnery

Can political theory go hand in hand with the idea of divine providence?

The American Republic

Brownson, Orestes A.

Gateway Editions

The Great Façade: The Regime of Novelty in the Catholic Church from Vatican II to the Francis Revolu

In this second edition of The Great Façade, co-author Christopher A. Ferrara brings the original work up to date with six new chapters addressing what Bishop Athanasius Schneider has called “the fourth great crisis” in the history of the Catholic Church. The additional chapters chronicle the attempts at ecclesial restoration by Benedict XVI and the “Francis revolution” following Benedict’s mysterious resignation--including Francis’s tumultuous Synod on the Family and his radical reform of the process for determining matrimonial nullity, leading to what some call “Catholic divorce” and a threat of schism on the magnitude of the Lutheran revolt of the 16th century. This new look at the 50 years following the Second Vatican Council is sure to provoke discussion and debate among Catholics concerned about the state of their Church.
 “There is no doubt in my mind that The Great Façade has been prophetic in the broader scriptural sense of the term. Its authors saw that Catholicism was under obvious assault, that the consequences of its rout would be dreadful, and that their failure to take up arms against a sea of enemies would be a punishable dereliction of duty. Those new to the crisis in the Church as well as old soldiers seeking to recharge intellectual batteries can make use of the book’s succinct outline of the modernist positions in matters of faith and morality that so swiftly rode to dominance on the back of the Second Vatican Council.”--JOHN RAO, author of Black Legends and the Light of the World
 “One of the most important books of the post-conciliar era, The Great Façade has earned the right to share the top shelf with such masterworks as the trilogy of Michael Davies, Romano Amerio’s Iota Unum and von Hildebrand’s The Devastated Vineyard. As the original publisher of this magnum opus, I am delighted that Angelico Press has brought out a new edition in which Mr. Ferrara provides six additional chapters documenting the rapid advances of ‘the regime of novelty’ following what he calls The Benedictine Respite. With its almost literally up-to-the-minute analysis of ‘the Francis Revolution,’ this work is now more important than ever.”--MICHAEL MATT, Editor, The Remnant
 “The second edition of The Great Facade tells the story of the crumbling veneer obscuring the glorious Catholic Church, updated to the very eve of its publication. This book is a necessity for anyone who senses the failure of the attempts of neo-Catholics to cover over the cracks in this crumbling edifice of post-conciliar innovation. As always, Chris Ferrara narrates his case against the viruses of novelty and their neo-Catholic apologists with painstaking documentation and a lively and witty style.”--BRIAN M. MCCALL, author of To Build the City of God
 “God is the Most Real Being. In contrast, the note of today’s Church often seems unreality--happy talk, avoiding issues, one-sided rhetoric masking self-contradiction and dubious projects. For a while it seemed that repeated disaster might be bringing back a certain sobriety, but no such luck. In such a setting, The Great Facade is more necessary than ever as a spirited brief against the fantasies of recent decades, and an appeal to Catholics and the Church to return to what they have been, in order to become what they most truly are.”--JAMES KALB, author of Against Inclusiveness
 “This long awaited second edition documents the ‘regime of novelty’ up to the present moment. It contains the most comprehensive analysis of Pope Francis’s tumultuous pontificate to date.”--JOHN VENNARI, Editor, Catholic Family News
 “[S]uperb--best analysis of the present, parlous state of the Church I have read.... A marvel of clear, careful argument, and utterly persuasive.”--JEFFREY RUBIN, convert and former editor of The Conservative Book Club

Religion & Spirituality

Christopher A. Ferrara

Christian Books & Bibles

Angelico Press

In this second edition of The Great Façade, co-author Christopher A. Ferrara brings the original work up to date with six new chapters addressing what Bishop Athanasius Schneider has called "the fourth great crisis" in the history of the Catholic Church. The additional chapters chronicle the attempts at ecclesial restoration by Benedict XVI and the "Francis revolution" following Benedict's mysterious resignation--including Francis's tumultuous Synod on the Family and his radical reform of the process for determining matrimonial nullity, leading to what some call "Catholic divorce" and a threat of schism on the magnitude of the Lutheran revolt of the 16th century. This new look at the 50 years following the Second Vatican Council is sure to provoke discussion and debate among Catholics concerned about the state of their Church.
 "There is no doubt in my mind that The Great Façade has been prophetic in the broader scriptural sense of the term. Its authors saw that Catholicism was under obvious assault, that the consequences of its rout would be dreadful, and that their failure to take up arms against a sea of enemies would be a punishable dereliction of duty. Those new to the crisis in the Church as well as old soldiers seeking to recharge intellectual batteries can make use of the book's succinct outline of the modernist positions in matters of faith and morality that so swiftly rode to dominance on the back of the Second Vatican Council."--JOHN RAO, author of Black Legends and the Light of the World
 "One of the most important books of the post-conciliar era, The Great Façade has earned the right to share the top shelf with such masterworks as the trilogy of Michael Davies, Romano Amerio's Iota Unum and von Hildebrand's The Devastated Vineyard. As the original publisher of this magnum opus, I am delighted that Angelico Press has brought out a new edition in which Mr. Ferrara provides six additional chapters documenting the rapid advances of 'the regime of novelty' following what he calls The Benedictine Respite. With its almost literally up-to-the-minute analysis of 'the Francis Revolution,' this work is now more important than ever."--MICHAEL MATT, Editor, The Remnant
 "The second edition of The Great Facade tells the story of the crumbling veneer obscuring the glorious Catholic Church, updated to the very eve of its publication. This book is a necessity for anyone who senses the failure of the attempts of neo-Catholics to cover over the cracks in this crumbling edifice of post-conciliar innovation. As always, Chris Ferrara narrates his case against the viruses of novelty and their neo-Catholic apologists with painstaking documentation and a lively and witty style."--BRIAN M. MCCALL, author of To Build the City of God
 "God is the Most Real Being. In contrast, the note of today's Church often seems unreality--happy talk, avoiding issues, one-sided rhetoric masking self-contradiction and dubious projects. For a while it seemed that repeated disaster might be bringing back a certain sobriety, but no such luck. In such a setting, The Great Facade is more necessary than ever as a spirited brief against the fantasies of recent decades, and an appeal to Catholics and the Church to return to what they have been, in order to become what they most truly are."--JAMES KALB, author of Against Inclusiveness
 "This long awaited second edition documents the 'regime of novelty' up to the present moment. It contains the most comprehensive analysis of Pope Francis's tumultuous pontificate to date."--JOHN VENNARI, Editor, Catholic Family News
 "[S]uperb--best analysis of the present, parlous state of the Church I have read.... A marvel of clear, careful argument, and utterly persuasive."--JEFFREY RUBIN, convert and former editor of The Conservative Book Club

Beyond Distributism

Acton Institute

Por qué el Estado sí es el problema: una defensa católica de la economía libre (Ensayo) (Spanish Edition)

Economics

Ciudadela

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Books by Thomas E. Woods, Jr.