54: Restoring Christian Culture—Dr. Anthony Esolen

Tony Esolen is both a sage and a survivor of the culture war. He knows there’s a war over which camp gets to determine the default setting narrative, and he knows the cost of warfare. He also knows it’s not a military war (at least not yet) but a war of ideas and moral stances.

Esolen suffered a bumpy and very public exit from Providence College last year, where he taught English and classics since 1990 -- their youngest full tenured professor ever. But the diversity demon took hold and Esolen fought back manfully. In the end, he stepped away from the salary, the tenure, the sabbatical, and the sundry perks and joined the faculty of Thomas More College of Liberal Arts in Merrimack, NH.

Like Ferdinand the Bull at the end of the Munro Leaf story, Esolen is happy. Our interview covered the story behind his departure from Providence not in a literary gossip way but in a What Went Wrong With Catholic Colleges way.

We talk about the new Center for the Restoration of Christian Culture  and the importance of getting in the game of reclaiming our cultural heritage.

 

In this episode you will learn:

• Why the need to rebuild culture NOW is so urgent
• A sample of the books we ought to read to guide us
• The importance of beautiful and reverent liturgy
• The reasons why parents need to take back, as best they can, the education of their children from the education establishment bureaucrats
• The difference literacy makes in the lives of children and family life

 

 Resources mentioned in this episode:

• The Death of Christian Culture by John Senior
• The Restoration of Christian Culture by John Senior
• Out of the Ashes: Rebuilding American Culture by Anthony Esolen
• Two Years Before the Mast by Richard Henry Dana
• The Counter-Revolution by Thomas Molnar

 

Join the Conversation:

Question of the week:

What small thing can I do as a family to restore the Christian culture?

 

Comment below.

 

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