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Yep, it’s another super busy week (and day), but as tempted as we were to cover the breaking news as it happens, we decided to take a step back and invite our good friend Rod Dreher on to discuss his new book The Benedict Option. Along with regular guest host Larry Kudlow, we get into the weeds on the the future of Christianity, faith, and the authority of Scripture and the wisdom of the ancient church. But don’t worry, we also cover all the news, the votes, and yes, the passing of the King of Rock and Roll.
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Music from this week’s podcast: Too Much Monkey Business by Chuck Berry
The ALL NEW opening sequence for the Ricochet Podcast was composed and produced by James Lileks.
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A barrel full of monks, @EJHill.
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He talks a lot, but he is no windier than the rest of the hosts.
Seawriter
Lol. Typing too fast. Fixed!
Great discussion with Rod Dreher.
But umm, I’m not buying Kudlow’s hagiographic praise of Trump’s supposed negotiating skills, especially not the comparison to Reagan.
The new found appreciation for the rule of Saint Benedict is gratifying and undoubtedly heartfelt but it requires an deeper understanding of the scope of histroy not merely today’s newspaper headline. We are living in the same pagan culture as 1789 France which turn Western Culture back to a paganism. It isn’t really new or worse. The 20th Century was still the most bloody century for Christian martyrs in the history of the Faith.
The Benedict Option has been open to all professing Catholics for the last 1500 years as a vowed member of the Benedictine order. It is the life of monastic discipline founded in it motto of Ora et Labora. Pray and Work.
Seems minimalistic but doable. Deus Vult
Enjoyable podcast fellers; but, please, for goodness’ sake, let James finish a thought occasionally. Surely he’s not just around to be a pitchman, is he?
Regarding the emptiness of churches, one of the things I see that has emptied out the pews is that many mainstream churches have gone all social justice warrior, and there are many people who do not want that. I know lots of people who do not want to be told from the pulpit that they are racists, homophobes, and xenophobes, because they believe that marriage is between a man and a woman, that western culture is something to be celebrated and preserved, and that all cultures are not equal, and that sex is not mutable (“gender” is something that words have in languages like French). These people have not left their churches, their churches have left them. Some of them have joined the Mormons, or the Catholics, some have joined evangelical churches, but many of these people do not feel comfortable in those traditions. They have not really left their churches, their churches have left them, and they have no where to go.
This is another example of the Left
What she said. I know this is a driving factor with me and my church.
Kind of funny listening to this late in the afternoon after AHCA fell off the cliff.
Well said about the importance of appreciating the sadness in Christianity and not just the joy. Unlike some modern interpretations, Catholicism asserts the potential for instructive suffering (accepted, not sought). We could grow close to God by sharing only His joys, but — as with any human relationship — we can be closer by sharing pains as well.
Christ more than anyone knows the pain of unrequited love. He has known loneliness and cruelty. He has known physical pains. Our own pains are opportunities to understand Him better. And unfortunately they are necessary reminders of our dependence on His graces.
When we speak about basic, essential Christianity, God’s laws are indeed important. But we must emphasize that Christianity is a relationship and not just a life philosophy or practical guide to ethical living. In our increasingly pagan culture, that presumption that one can live well without regard to God, souls, or other spirits draws many away from the Church. Our charitable acts must be expressly Christ-centered. God must be in our words and not just in our actions, lest we too forget that all proceeds from Him.
Christianity is a story about a relationship. And it is an epic drama — full of danger, pain, love, betrayal, faithfulness, and comedy too — properly told. Modern compromises with PC culture are worse than blasphemous; they’re boring.
Somewhere, a pastor is listening to James’s segueway and wondering how he can fill the coffers with mid-sermon advertising.
I would have appreciated a little more from Dreher actually explaining his book and not merely responding to Larry’s opinions and life experiences. I get the impression Larry is one of those guys who thinks something hasn’t been said until he’s said it.
I never, not once, thought about that in THAT way. Which is truly and everlasting shame.
It was really interesting listening to this podcast back-to-back with the Commentary podcast. Night and day interpretations of the healthcare wrangling. I wonder which is more accurate? I don’t trust my own political judgment anymore, but I don’t really trust anyone else either!
The refrain that anyone rejecting this first proposal chose to keep Obamacare is ridiculous, because the GOP leadership originally proposed having something months from now anyway. There’s plenty of time for drafting or editing Republican proposals. This wasn’t all or nothing.
And, considering how much time Republicans schedule for hearings, committees, and whatnot, they can surely schedule a little time for other legislation while their healthcare remedy is in the shop. Tax reform, for example. Crack the whip, Larry!
Larry’s rant where he conflated Meals on Wheels with food stamps was pretty goofy for anyone who has ever driven a Meals on Wheels route or is remotely familiar with what Meals on Wheels does and who they service.
He was basically saying “these 87-year-olds need to stop relying on others and get a job!”
There a some good arguments to make about how programs like MoW should be funded and where the responsibility for programs like it lies, but Larry was simply arguing against food stamps and lumping Meals on Wheels into the same line.
Agreed. But in my experience doing Meals on Wheels in the Houston area for years, not all recipients are clearly too handicapped, old, or otherwise unable to shop for and feed themselves. Some do indeed seem to treat it like a food stamp program.
Also, James was right that Larry inadvertently supported the Left’s false narrative that Meals On Wheels, which already receives most of its funding from other sources, was ever on the chopping block.
Kudlow’s still one of my favorite guests.
There is a scene like that in Drums Along The Mohawk. I wish I could find it on the net – it’s a hoot.
Good for the Prez for using the phone the last couple of weeks. Maybe he could have tried to learn a bit about the subject of health care before he was sworn into office. It’s a complex topic I hear.
Have you seen those charts of the effective taxation by getting off of welfare? Work doesn’t pay. Plus the chronic 2% GDP. It’s more sensible to not take on the risk of working.
Also, I don’t think good character and having good associations pays right now. Our system is more about theft and graft and getting YOUR thug in office. It will get better after the government runs out of money.
I noticed this while looking into tax brackets. At the high end of my tax bracket, we have a higher take home pay than if we broke into the low end of the next bracket… so why would I WANT to break that barrier?
Tax brackets are a horrifying and stupid method of doing taxes.
A wonderful podcast! Thank you. On withdrawing to a place apart. In the Catholic context, it never means taking oneself out of the fray. It does mean spending time in prayer, reading the gospel, going to mass etc. Our kids need to know about and develop an ability to find this “place apart”. I came to realize this when I was teaching religion to sixth graders. I decided to take them to the church on Fridays for fifteen minutes when the Blessed Sacrament was exposed. I taught them about adoration, stressed that this was their individual time with Christ, and although we walked over as a class, I told them they were free to sit anywhere in the church. At the end of the year, I asked them to write a paragraph on their experiences. I was amazed at how important the time was to them. One girl, whose parents were divorcing, said that it was the only place she could “talk” honestly. She felt that anything she said was “taking sides” “ hurting feelings. Even in therapy she didn’t feel safe to do this. She said only at adoration she could “say her heart.” An older student said it was the only place she could “hear her own thoughts.” . When deciding to do this with my classes, I hesitated fearing that they were maybe too young. Well, I found out; they need it big time.
The filibuster, like stare decisis, has the effect of providing a permanent ratchet to the left. In the old Soviet days there was a term used for this: The Brezhnev Doctrine. Once a policy is in place there is no going back. Abolishing the filibuster should be one of the main priorities of the next [real] Republican Presidential candidate.
Can’t wait to get Rob back. Kudlow is awful as usual.
Let’s pit him against Professor Epstein. :-/
That would be interesting. Curious at the least.
Seawriter
I kind of agree with this. When I listen to Larry I never know whether he is saying what he really thinks, or just saying what he thinks the situation demands that he say based on the circumstances. Half the time I expect him to pause after a sentence and say “yeah… that’s it….” I got this impression when I first heard him say that a Trump-sponsored huge infrastructure spending bill will be the “good” kind of spending. You know, not the “bad” kind of huge government spending like Obama does. I got the impression that if Obama had proposed the exact bill he was thinking of, he would be all over how horrible it is.
Same with him waxing all pious after Rod Dreher spoke. I just found myself rolling my eyes.
Could someone please explain to me (since Mr. Kudlow repeated such) how providing insurance policy benefits that one cannot possibly use adds to the price of an insurance policy?
For example, a post-menopausal woman cannot get pregnant and cannot submit a claim for the labor and delivery of a baby.
What mandatory “loaded” health insurance policies simply do is obscure (if you’re unsophisticated) the fact that one person is paying for someone else’s claims.
That Caspar mattress segue of James was a thing of beauty, a masterpiece…..