Donald DeMarco: George Huntston Williams, an historian of Christianity known for his extraordinary range and productivity, passed away on Oct. 6 in the second millennial year at the age of 86. Sic transit gloria mundi! His legacy should not pass into oblivion. He began his career as a teacher in 1947 at the Harvard Divinity School, which was struggling to stay afloat [...]
Donald DeMarco: It is a relatively simple thing to make something. All we need to do is put together parts that are readily available. Man is a maker. Homo faber is his classical name. On the other hand, man himself is made. The process of making a man is unimaginably complex and extends over centuries. We could not come into existence save [...]
Donald DeMarco, Commentary: Poetry in the best sense offers us glimpses into reality that we can ill afford to do without. Science, opinion polls, psychological theories, and the like, are but shadows in comparison with the light by which poetry can illuminate certain realities. G.K. Chesterton maintained that “great poets use the telescope as well as the microscope.” This paradoxical feature may make [...]
Donald De Marco The Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals (U.K.) have issued a new set of guidelines that introduces an assortment of “trans-friendly” terms. The concern is to avoid offending people who have been transgendered by insisting that there is such a thing as distinct sexes. The guidelines instruct doctors, nurses, and midwives to use gender-neutral terms. Thus, “chestfeeding” should replace “breastfeeding” [...]
Commentary St. Jerome’s University, in Waterloo, Ont., and purportedly a Catholic institution, has decided to fly the LGBTQ flag on its campus to celebrate “Pride” month. Interim President Scott Kline, whose term began on July 1, 2019, defended the action as a way of sending the message that “all are welcome in this place.” The immediate reaction to the move has shown [...]
Kirk Gibson's iconic 1988 World Series home run. Donald DeMarco writes is an example of one of the great joys of life. In sports, you either win or lose, but you cannot win unless you play the game. This axiom applies to life as well as to philosophy. One cannot succeed in life unless he puts aside the fear of [...]
There are many definitions of the cynic. The one I choose for this article describes the person who is hostile toward the past that he knows and hospitable toward the future that he does not know. The clearest example of this form of cynicism about which I am aware belongs to a former colleague of mine who shall remain anonymous: “Marriage is [...]
A group of male pro-lifers arrived on the campus of Penn State University recently to dialogue with students about what is truly the most important moral issue of our time. The results were mixed. However, a few female students rigidly maintained that men have no business talking about abortion. Therefore, dialogue between men and women, in their minds, on the subject of [...]
We live, scientists tell us, in a four-dimensional space-time continuum. In a way that is difficult to grasp, space and time are profoundly inter-related. But the imagination lives in a fifth dimension -- Dimension H -- the realm of the hypothetical. What is and what could be lie in tantalizingly close proximity to each other, separated only by our free choices. Free [...]
A convention for liberal activists was held in Providence, R.I. in mid-June, 2012. The opening speaker, who will remain nameless out of respect to her ancestry, is a Democratic congressional candidate. She called the attendees to exercise “culture power” and urged women who had had abortions, as well as those who supported these women, to stand. She then said to [...]
Editor’s Note: Editor Paul Tuns spoke with frequent Interim contributor Donald DeMarco by email. DeMarco, a prolific author, professor emeritus at St. Jerome’s University in Waterloo, Ont., and an adjunct professor at Holy Apostles College & Seminary in Cromwell, Conn., was recently named a Senior Fellow of HLI America, an initiative of Human Life International. Some of his recently writings [...]
In the movie version of Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, there is a scene in which the captain of the book-burning squad makes off-hand comments on some of the books that are about to be incinerated. In his view, philosophy books are the most pernicious. He pulls down a book from the shelf and cradles it in his hands for a moment [...]
“All who would win joy, must share it; happiness was born a twin.” -- George Gordon Lord Byron Birth, as it is often said, is a miracle. A baby is born, a living, breathing, honest-to-goodness baby that you can hold in your arms. Just prior to delivery, it was something parents were expecting, but whose reality was still concealed. It was something [...]
I am a baseball fan. I appreciate, therefore, the dramatic home run and the superlative play of those privileged individuals who are dubbed All Stars. Naturally, on the night of July 11, I turned my TV channel to the broadcast of the All Star Home Run Derby. But a strange thing happened. Despite the triadic confluence of baseball, home runs, and All Stars, [...]
“The Time Travel Society will hold its annual meeting three years ago.” This chronological bit of humor may be viewed as a tribute to H. G. Wells’ fabled time machine. Nevertheless, we do possess a technology that has much in common with time travel. It is the modern television set, partnered, as it is, with the handheld remote that can carry us, at [...]