Christian Thoughts On Private Property: What Ayn Rand Missed, Part II

Still in my library, I found the following selection on the subject of private property, and of "the state," in Life of Leo XIII And the History Of His Pontificate. Ayn Rand missed this book as well as Pope Leo XIII's encyclical Rerum Novarum. Perhaps this is just a case of too much writing and too little research. That's what I think anyway. Of course, she was a novelist, so facts weren't necessary (head-slap).

Christian Thoughts On Private Property: What Ayn Rand Missed

It's been a couple of weeks since publishing my last post on Ayn Rand.Things have settled down a bit here and now I can turn my attention to what she missed regarding a concept that is near and dear to all of her devotees: the concept of private property.

For Faith In Action: Calling All Rand Busters.™ Please Report To Your Posts!

A few days ago, I got mad as hell and said I won't take it anymore. What about? Well, some of our Christian brethren believe they can reconcile following Ayn Rand's poisonous philosophy and still consider themselves, you know, Christians.

Didn't Want To Be a Rand Buster™ But Then I Read Today's Readings

So perhaps you think I've gone a little batty with this long march I've undertaken to beg our Christian brethren to forswear the Randian siren song luring them upon the lee shore of Objectivism. Frank has gone to cloud cuckoo land, sho 'nuff. Man, if only he would just settle down and put his thinking cap on. Sheesh.

OK then. So today at the office, one of my colleagues had a birthday, see? So I didn't go to Mass like I usually would. The office gathered around to be thankful to God for bringing us the gift of this person, and so it was right and fitting to celebrate the occasion. Agreed? I'll get back to my routine tomorrow.

To Join the Ayn Rand Busters? To Be A Hero? I'm In!

Hey, look at the calendar. The election cycle is coming around again! Time to check our brains at the door and just go with our gut feelings. Embrace fuzzy math concepts like 1 + 1 = 3.18275. Stuff like that.

Forget the real substantive issues we can actually do something about, like fixing Social Security's looming bankruptcy, and instead focus on bankrupting ourselves by bombing Yemen. Sweet!

Because John Galt Is Really Ayn Rand, Not Jesus Christ (Nice Try Though)

What does it take to snap Joe-Sixpack, USMC out of his reverie? That's easy. Keep attempting to redeem the ideas of Ayn Rand and Christianize them. I'll fix bayonets and come running like a teufel-hunden responding to one of those silent dog whistles.

Reverend Robert A. Sirico of the Acton Institute (which I generally admire) recently wrote an article entitled Who Really Was John Galt Anyway? Therein, Rev. Sirico tries to tease out Jesus Christ from the persona of Ms. Rand’s fictional character John Galt. Or perhaps he tries to tease out Ms. Rand’s longing for the Lord.

Because Time is Too Precious To Waste on A Bad Movie (Condolences to Fans of Ayn Rand)

Ok, you're right. This isn't one of the reasons YIMCatholic. For the sake of argument though, just consider this as a public service announcement post.

A few weeks ago I shared an idea I believe is obvious: Ayn Rand's novel Atlas Shrugged is not the Sermon on the Mount. Yes, Joe Six-Pack, USMC is the master of the obvious (if anything at all). Guess what else? He's cheap too. Or frugal, depending on your frame of reference. The bottom-line? I filter my possible movie viewing choices through a trusted source before deciding to commit my limited amount of entertainment dollars to seeing a movie.

Because the Proof of Ayn Rand's Pudding, Is In the Eating

-Feast of St. John Baptist de la Salle

About a month ago, I wrote a wee post around a television interview Mike Wallace did with Ayn Rand back in 1959. I just as easily could have used an interview she did later on. Same story, same selfish pseudo-philosophy.

You see, being selfish is easy and being a Christian is hard. And being really, and truly Christian is almost never even attempted.

Because "Atlas Shrugged" is not "the Sermon on the Mount"

On this second day of Lent, I have a couple of videos to share with you. The first is from an interview Ayn Rand did with Mike Wallace back in the days when networks were few.

Ayn Rand, the author, novelist, and philosopher, answers the kinds of tough questions that journalists used to be able to ask, back when the networks were an oligopoly.