Books Fr. Paul suggests we read

[Denise]

Ask Me Anything

This is a collection of dialogues, correspondence, and comments from what were formerly called my “Office Hours” and “Ask Theophilus” articles for Christian college students. For the sequel, see Ask Me Anything 2.
Ask Me Anything has three main parts:

Girl and Guy Stuff
Faith on Campus Stuffi
Hot Stuff

The book also includes lots of letters from real people who reacted to these dialogues and asked questions which I answer n the book.


Ask Me Anything II.

You guessed it: Ask Me Anything 2 is the sequel to Ask Me Anything. As you can see by comparing the tables of contents, this time the collection of dialogues, correspondence, and comments is organized around different themes; it is aimed at young people just a little more mature in Christian faith.

Although I wrote the first book as a Protestant, and the sequel after becoming Catholic, I had been a Catholic-friendly Protestant, and I am a Protestant-friendly Catholic. So it won’t be surprising that both books are popular with both groups.
Ask Me Anything 2 has four main parts:

Learning to Think Stuff
College Relationships Stuff
Fleeing From God Stuff
Fleeing Toward God Stuff

It also includes lots of letters from real people who reacted to these dialogues and asked questions, which I answer in the book.


On the Meaning of Sex

Of all my books already in print (the Commentary is still forthcoming), this is probably my favorite. The title comes from a conversation in one of my classes. One of my students had expressed loathing for the characters in Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World: “These people are disgusting,” he said. Thinking that I knew what he meant, I nodded and said, “Sex ought to mean something.” He surprised me by answering that sex doesn’t have to mean anything. Yet on closer examination, the seemingly unrelated reason for his disgust with the people in the book implied that sex does have to mean something -- and that it means it already.

This ambivalence is at the heart of a lot of our problems. I see a terrain of unutterable sweetness, despoiled by unmentionable pain. What interests me is how to redeem that unutterable sweetness.

In fact, I wanted to title the book The Sweet Science, a phrase suggested by the mystical poetry of John of the Cross, who wrote “There He taught me the science full of sweetness …. There I promised to be His bride.” The publisher pointed out that the expression “the sweet science” is also used for wrestling.

Most of the chapters begin with conversations I’ve had with real students. An early version of the article that eventually became Chapter 2 can be found here; I apologize for its title, which is not the one that I gave it.

Does Sex Have to Mean Something?
The Meaning of the Sexual Powers
The Meaning of Sexual Differences
The Meaning of Sexual Love
The Meaning of Sexual Beauty
The Meaning of Sexual Purity
Transcendence



What We Can't Not Know: A Guide

This book is a rational defense of the common moral sense of plain people (which, paradoxically, is out of fashion). Although it wasn’t written as a textbook, it can serve as one. A new preface on the four ages of natural law puts the topic in historical context. Although the book is for scholars too, if you have no background in natural law, this is probably the best place to begin.
Preface to the Second Edition: A New Phase of an Old Tradition
Preface to the First Edition: Whom This Book Is For
Introduction: The Moral Common Ground
THE LOST WORLD

Things We Can’t Not Know
What It Is That We Can’t Not Know
Could We Get By Knowing Less?

EXPLAINING THE LOST WORLD

The First and Second Witnesses
The Third and Fourth Witnesses
Some Objections

HOW THE LOST WORLD WAS LOST

Denial
Eclipse

RECOVERING THE LOST WORLD

The Public Relations of Moral Wrong
The Public Relations of Moral Right
Possible Futures

Appendices

The Decalogue as a Summary of the Natural Law
The Noahide Commandments as a Summary of the Natural Law
Isaiah, David, and Paul on the Natural Law
An Example of Enmity to Nature: The Redefinition of Pregnancy as a Disease

The Underground Thomist
http://www.undergroundthomist.org/

This is J. Budziszewski. Unbelievable as it may seem, I am not the only person with that name. One of the others complained to me that he was losing clients because people were getting us confused. I am the one who has taught since 1981 at the University of Texas at Austin, where I am a professor of government and philosophy. My academic focus is the ethical basis of politics. That doesn't mean politicians are virtuous. It means that choices concerning right and wrong, good and evil, are inseparable from political life -- so, among other things, whether the politicians and citizens are virtuous makes a difference. I think and write mostly about classical natural law; conscience; moral character; moral self-deception; family and sexuality; religion and public life; authentic vs. counterfeit versions of toleration and liberty; and the unravelling (and possible restoration) of our common culture. The various parts of this website -- articles, talks, books, dialogues, blog, and so forth -- are variously targeted, some at scholars, some at students, and some at general readers, but I hope everything can be read and enjoyed by everyone.
J. Budziszewski