The American Spectator : The Spectacle Blog : Dispatches from the Academy 2: Great Lines

Print Email

Text Size

The Spectacle Blog

Dispatches from the Academy 2: Great Lines

By Hunter Baker on 2.26.09 @ 4:41PM

Still reporting from the Making Men Moral Conference in honor of Robert George at Union University . . .

I've had the chance to hear some great lines offered up by conservative academics. Here are a couple:

Paul Kerry (BYU) on the difference between Robert George and Cornel West:

"Last year, Robert George was invited to meet with Pope Benedict XVI. Cornel West was similarly honored to be invited to meet with Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez."

Russ Moore (Southern Seminary) on better relations between evangelicals and Catholics:

"Very few evangelicals today would still say the Pope is the Anti-Christ. Bill Maher might, but evangelicals wouldn't."

Union has done a tremendous job of putting this conference together. They may be on track to become another conservative favorite like Hillsdale, the graduate school at Claremont, and the political theory program at LSU (represented here by the delightful James Stoner).

Later, I'll have a report about the events of this evening. Richard John Neuhaus was slated to speak at the conference, but died recently, thus leaving a substantial hole in the conservative tapestry. It's a hole, thankfully, that we have men like Robert George and Father Robert Sirico to help fill.

Tonight, Robert George, Harry Poe, and others will host an informal conversation with the assembled guests. I'm guessing we'll have a great time hearing stories about the exploits of Father Neuhaus.

topics:
Education

View all comments (6) | Leave a comment

Jeremiah| 2.26.09 @ 5:46PM

How nice of the evangelicals to admit the possibility that the pope might not be the anti-christ.

They sure are a bunch of enlightened souls, those evangelicals. We should feel warm and fuzzy inside they've accepted the fact that Catholics have the right to exist.

How generous of them, really. Really, thank you, thank you.

Peter Sellers| 2.26.09 @ 6:07PM

"Making Men Moral" sounds like a great and necessary book. However I just checked Amazon and its $75 for a paperback????

Now, I'm am ardent capitalist, but is there a special reason for this? How does one influence debate by charging prices that will exclude most readers?

Maybe I'm missing something.

Alan Brooks| 2.26.09 @ 11:13PM

if a religious, or ethics, book is worth $75, then perhaps the 'Story of O' is worth one cent?

Hunter Baker| 2.27.09 @ 12:36AM

Hey, Jeremiah, it was a joke! Get a sense of humor.

Peter Sellers| 2.27.09 @ 7:28AM

Alan, I'm not saying it isn't *worth* $75. Rather, it sounds like a brilliant book with some very relevant ideas. However, at that price the potential impact of those ideas is reduced.

Look, the author is entitled to charge whatever he wants. It's his book, his ideas, the fruit of his labor and its certainly not my place to tell him what to charge. Perhaps this is more of a philosophical question about why one puts forth ideas.

All I know is that after reading about Making Men Moral on this site I jumped right to amazon intending to order a copy until I saw the sticker shock. But hey, that's just me. In my current financial situation splurging on a $25 book would have be reckless.