The Humanitas Forum

Someone has pointed out that if we didn’t have popular culture we wouldn’t have any culture at all.  Theologian Dr. Robert Banks would probably agree:  “Popular culture has become the environment in which we live, move, and have …

Why can’t you buy a cell phone that doesn’t do too much?  Why are there 175 salad dressings on the shelf at the supermarket?  Why are 120 retirement plans offered in the workplace?  And 50 styles of …

Phubbing is phone-snubbing.  It happens when someone pays attention to their mobile phone instead of the people in their immediate presence.  Many of us are guilty!  We’re also guilty of excusing our companions when they reach for …

The debris of the sixties sexual revolution continues to wash up onto our cultural shores.  Hooking up.  Pornography.  Anorexia.  Bulimia.  Abortion.  Cutting.  STDs.  We all see the devastation. 

But some …

James Otis Thach really wanted his own Samsung UN85S9 with its 85” screen—even though the price was a tad steep.  Fortunately, Amazon was ready to help.  They began with a $5,002.00 discount!  Then, they threw in free …

No, not impossible, but it may be rather difficult!  Some eighty years ago, the Spanish philosopher Jose Ortega y Gasset pointed out that we moderns exhibit a “radical ingratitude” toward all that has “made possible the ease of our …

Living in a post-Christian culture comes with a host of challenges, many of which are not easily noticed.  This is our native habitat.  It’s what we’re used to.  But the “taken-for-granteds” of contemporary culture may not be …

Prophets often come in strange guises and from unexpected places.  Although their message may point to the spiritual nature of the universe, they themselves may not be religious.

Václav Havel was such a prophet.  He began his …

Raising questions about technology can get you in trouble.  In a culture where smart phones are frequently consulted before getting out of bed in the morning, all sorts of technologies are simply taken for granted.  Raising questions about …

“Mr. Franklin, what have you wrought?”  “A republic, Madam—if you can keep it.”  Benjamin Franklin gave this reply to a woman who asked what kind of government had been formed by the Constitutional Convention, just concluded in 1787.

Freedom had …