The Realm of Reason
EPISTLE 2
That man makes a mean figure in the eyes of reason, who is measuring syllables and coupling rhimes, when he should be mending his own soul, and securing his own immortality. — Alexander Pope
“Words are like leaves, and where they most abound,
Much fruit of sense beneath is rarely found.” Alexander Pope, An Essay on Criticism, Part Third.
Comply with the decree of Master Pope,
And squander not words, nor waste precious time,
And blight not Doctrine put to verse and rhyme.
For Canons ought not the foolish to bear;
So, please God, as I write this prayer,
Give content, balance, junction to each part,
And let faith be enhanc’d by reason’s art.
That God is, is prov’d by bare reason ‘lone
With demonstrations eight, as have been shown,
By Thomas from effects, Cause God deduc’d;
And other sages by whom God educ’d:
By Anselm’s concept perfect God inferr’d;
And Newman by the conscience God e’er stirr’d.
There must a Causer First aye to obtain.
Else we regress in expectation vain
In hopeless and perpetual refrain.
For whirlpool Hylotheism swirls in
The careless to a mean oblivion.
A fell Charybdis, reason it engorges
And in exchange, pretension it disgorges.
And from its vortex it detritus hurls
You May Also Enjoy
If we place a social ministry ahead of the salvation of souls (the Great Commission), then we fail not only those we are trying to help, but ourselves and God as well.
The American founders followed Plato and Aristotle in acknowledging man’s inclination to consolidate power, indulge his passions, and oppress his fellowman.
Our culture's current crisis of faith has been traced, in part, to Foucault's philosophy, which is understood as an attack on the foundations of truth itself.