The first two chapters of Genesis are excellent.

But I also take a birds eye view of key figures, the legislative texts, Wisdom literature, and the prophets.

Natural Law: God has an eternal, beautiful wise plan with which He created the universe. He placed this plan in our very being. We have the intellect to recognize it and the freedom to participate in it.

The ends of marriage are (1) the procreation and education of children, (2) the mutual help of the spouses

There are two properties of marriage: (1) exclusivity, and (2) permanence.

There are three goods of marriage: offspring, fidelity, and the sacrament.

Because marriages naturally result in children, which have an impact on the larger society, society has a right and duty to have reasonable policies and legislation protecting marriage and the family.

We start pretty fast!

It's clear that marriage is hurting as an institution: fewer marriages later in life with less children and more divorces... Tough times...

Why? In addition to the selfishness and weakness of the flesh of all times, there is the perceived increase in the expectation of the necessities of life, individualism with its inability to trust and fear of commitment, the objectification of women with pornography, technology that make the fruitfulness of option perceived as optional, and we don't prioritize sacrifice.

It comes from a dualism and a materialism.

And Pope St John Paul II shows up and brings the Theology of the Body in the nic of time!
1) Dignity of the human person
2) We are soul and body
3) There are two ways of being body--male and female
4) The sexual differences reveal the "spousal meaning of the body", that is, we are meant to be gift
5) The spousal meaning of the body is fulfilled with the mutual gift resulting in marriage, a communion of persons, which mirrors the Trinity
6) Sin ruins this plan, specifically lust which causes an alienation between man and woman.
7) But Jesus sets us free and restores what has been broken/wounded.

Rhetoric is the craft/art of Persuasion, persuading someone to adjust an attitude or behavior. It is made up of three elements:

Ethos--the credibility of the speaker
Pathos--the open frame of mind of the audience
Logos--the message that is clear, convincing and relevant

How can you be a good thinker? Well, it doesn't happen by accident.

You need to make an argument that is good, valid (following the rules of logic) and soun (with truthful premises).

You can do it starting with more specific thinks and work to general conclusions (inductive reasoning) or work from the general claims to the specific (deductive reasoning).

Be aware of fallacies! There are many fallacies that are spewed out by the world (and sometimes by our own lips, yikes).

Holy smokes, my friends, I wrote a book! "A Brave New Algorithm" by Sean O'Brien

You can find it on Amazon and Walmart's website. Give it a good rating!

In this episode, you'll hear the story behind it, the writing process, what challenged me and fascinated me, and why I think it is awesome!

See Bob Schuchts Book "Be Healed" for more.

An actual or perceived injustice can open the door for us to believe a lie. That bad belief can then lead to an inner vow, which then opens the door to a lot of hurts in life.

Healing happens through
1) Chooseing Jesus to be our security, so we can courageously look at the difficult parts of our life.
2) Allowing the Holy Spirit to enlighten us through prayer and openness.
3) Healing advances by, again, more prayer, community life, unwinding perceptions to believe in the real and complete truth, charity therapy, and accepting our cross.

We're not individualist or communists. We've got to aim at the truth right down the middle. We have our unique, personal human dignity, and yet we rely on others.

This is how to do it:
--Solidarity
--Healthy opposition
--Dialogue