(LifeSiteNews) — On this episode of The John Henry Westen Show I spoke with Bobby Angel, Catholic author, speaker, and co-host of The Jackie and Bobby Show. We discussed the impact of philosophy on society, Marxism’s influence on the world today, overcoming pornography, and more.
After discussing his powerful reversion story from a fallen away to devout Catholic, I asked Angel why most people don’t learn classical philosophy anymore, with many not even knowing what it is, thanks to the near extinction of classical education.
Angel emphasized that we all have a philosophy whether we admit it or not, and our current culture sees the world through a very materialistic and nihilistic lens that doesn’t believe in religion. He compared this view to that of the ancient and medieval philosophers.
“The ancients and the medieval eyes were much more dialed into, ‘There is a spiritual reality all around us.’ And it is worth chewing on the fact that, if we assume and hold true that we are made in the image and likeness of God, then we are good, then creation is good, then we are not accidents and the body matters,” he said.
Then Angel highlighted how modern universities often teach about ancient philosophers like Aristotle and Plato but skip over the medieval period as if nothing happened until the Enlightenment. Angel noted how philosophy was only preserved because of the Catholic Church.
“Really, the Catholic Church kept philosophy alive, the Catholic Church kept education [alive]. And the monks that were transcribing the works of Aristotle and the ancients, as Europe had fallen … out of the unity under the Roman Empire into these chaotic, warring tribes,” he said.
“It’s the Catholic Church that actually held society together. Why do we have universities? Why do we have hospitals? That is a fruit of the medieval time period that saw the human person through this Judeo-Christian lens, that ‘We are worth educating, we are worth taking care of,’ so we’re not just going to leave the dead by the river. We’re not going to leave the dead by the street side; we’re actually going to create these buildings called hospitals and take care of people. And we’re actually going to create these things called universities and educate people,’” he added.
Later in the episode, I asked Angel about his forthcoming book, The Postmodern Predicament, specifically what he means by a chapter entitled “Everything is Marxist,” considering the Iron Curtain fell decades ago.
He stressed that although the Iron Curtain fell, communism hasn’t been defeated but has in fact infiltrated our institutions.
“It went underground, and it just kept morphing and then infected academia. And it’s made its way through in these different forms today. You see it everywhere once you realize the narrative is not, for instance, the goodness of what America strives for, the fact that we’re created in the image and likeness of God,” Angel said.
“The narrative we’re given now everywhere is power. It’s about oppressors and the oppressed. And there’s a moral right we should do in toppling those who oppress. ‘And we’re going to march our way through history. And everyone who was seen as heroic, we’re going to tear down their statues because they were oppressors, and we’re just going to flip everything on its head.’”
To hear more from Bobby Angel, watch or listen to my full interview.
Click here to pre-order Angel’s latest book, The Postmodern Predicament.
The John-Henry Westen Show is available by video on the show’s YouTube channel and right here on my LifeSite blog.
It is also available in audio format on platforms such as Spotify, Soundcloud, and Acast. We are awaiting approval for iTunes and Google Play as well. To subscribe to the audio version on various channels, visit the Acast webpage here.
We’ve created a special email list for the show so that we can notify you every week when we post a new episode. Please sign up now by clicking here. You can also subscribe to the YouTube channel, and you’ll be notified by YouTube when there is new content.
You can send me feedback, or ideas for show topics by emailing [email protected].
RELATED:
Was the rise of communism foretold by Blessed Emmerich’s vision of Satan ‘unchained’?
Modern philosophy makes people miserable. How about a medieval approach?
Catholics should remember we must obey God first and only then the government
