Josef Pieper (1904–1997) was a Roman Catholic theologian and philosopher from Elte, Westphalia, Germany. He imbibed the philosophy of Thomas Aquinas but thought deeply about the rest of the Western tradition, ancient and modern (read a little more about him here). I have found his work a particularly helpful guide to thinking deeply and clearly about what it means to live rightly as a human being. His most famous work is Leisure: the Basis of Culture. If you want to get a sense of the breadth of his work, An Anthology, which he compiled at the end of his life, is a great place to start.
If you want to think about how to live well as a Christian in this time, Pieper’s works are full of wisdom. Pieper’s works are also concise. All of them are short volumes. The chapters are also short. You can usually read a chapter in one short sitting. They stir the heart and the mind and challenge us to be what God has called us to be. Here are 7 quotes that invite you to read Josef Pieper.
1. The key question of our time that our prosperity should make us ask: What is life for? “After we have accomplished, with an admirable amount of intelligence and hard work, all that is necessary, after we have provided for the basic needs of life, produced the essential foodstuff, protected the realm of life itself—after all this, what is the meaning of the life itself that we have made possible? How do we define a truly human life?” (Anthology, 111).
2. Prudence or wisdom is the pre-eminent virtue: “The pre-eminence of prudence means that realization of the good presupposes knowledge of reality. He alone can do good who knows what things are like and what their situation is. . . . Realization of the good presupposes that our actions are appropriate to the real situation, that is to the concrete realities which form the ‘environment’ of a concrete human action; and that we therefore take this concrete reality seriously, with clear-eyed objectivity” (The Four Cardinal Virtues, 10). Continue reading “7 Quotes that Invite You to Read Josef Pieper”
How would Adam and Abraham commune with God? There is a difference between the two in that Adam began as a creature unfallen into sin and Abraham was a sinful man. There is a similarity, however, in that both of them had limited amounts of special revelation. In other words, they didn’t have a large book (the Bible) to serve as the basis of communion with God. So, how did they commune with God?
Why should anyone care about Reinhold Niebuhr (1892–1971, not to be confused with his brother, H. Richard)? For any Christian who desires to be involved in social problems, Reinhold Niebuhr provides a unique perspective that challenges our complacency and provides great wisdom on how and how not to engage in society. Niebuhr explains Christian theology in a way that challenges everyone to seek after greater justice and love. At the same time, his teaching encourages great humility in our endeavors because of the universal taint of every endeavor with our own sinfulness and pride.
According to Wikipedia, the pejorative name “Karen” means, “a woman perceived as entitled or demanding beyond the scope of what is appropriate or necessary.” It is somewhat ironic that one of the best analyses I have found of Karens is from a woman named Karen.