The next book club topic has been picked.
But this next topic is going to be not just part of the book club. It’s going to have its own section here on my site.
Before I get into that, the next book for the America book club topic has also been picked. As I mentioned before, given the size of the books I’m reading for the America theme, I will take some breaks in between. I had planned to get my other theme going, and now I’m burning for that other theme.
The next book for the America theme: A History of the American People by Paul Johnson.
This is a famous book, as Paul Johnson is a famous historian. It’s likely some of you have heard of or possibly even have read some of his known works:
Modern Times
Intellectuals
Creators
Heroes
Humorists
A History of the American People is regarded more as literature than it is a history. Johnson is known for his flair, his telling of a story, and the philosophy underneath it.
When I start this book, I’m unsure. Likely it will be a bit, as I will explain below. Not many joined me on A Patriot’s History of the United States, but more of you seem to like my new read, riff, publish—where I read a book club book, riff on a passage, then publish it. One part is available to all members. The other is only available to paying members. I will continue that. I’m in the home stretch of A Patriot’s History with about 300 or so pages left. It was a doorstop book, so when finished, I’ll likely read a few easy reads, then jump into the next theme. I would normally ask who would like to join in for Johnson, but it’s a ways away for that. Still, if you plan to read it, or want to read it now and would like to discuss it with me, the chat is open to paying members to do that. I can bounce it off the two other books I’ve read for the America book club and what I know of American history.
The Next Pick: Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas is the next topic for the book club.
But this is not a one-off topic.
I’ve mentioned and hinted that I’ve returned to my Catholic faith. I have an article in the works that will meditate on that more. Yet as I return, and how my return was cerebral, I feel compelled to have a new section dedicated to this.
Now, I’m not going to start a podcast on Catholic faith. There are enough people who have either returned to their Catholic faith five minutes ago or became a Catholic one minute ago who now have a podcast. I’m not an expert on the Catholic faith. I seemed an expert at forgetting it all when I reflexively went atheist nearly 20 years ago.
My starting a Catholic faith secion on one end will be meditative, more of a memoir perhaps. I’ll write what comes to mind versus teach. I’m in no position to teach it. The other end, as you’ll see with the book club, will explore the rich and massive canon of Catholic works, Christian works, and theological works in general. The books will not be explicitly Catholic, as I will certainly look into:
C. S. Lewis
Stephen C. Meyer
Carl Trueman
Fyodor Dostoyevski
Raymond Ibrahim
And more.
I’m not sure what I’ll name the section either. I thought “Confessions” after St. Augustine, but I’m not sold on that entirely. I thought something like “Summa Confessions,” but I thought that sounds too much like a shtick. But something will come to mind.
Now, onto Thomas Aquinas as the next pick for the book club.
Why Aquinas?
His name almost answers it, but the selfish reason: he’s my confirmation saint.
Right now I’m undergoing my adult confirmation. As part of getting confirmed, you pick a confirmation saint. A confirmation saint is a saint you wish to emulate, a saint you ask for help, a saint you seek for guidance. The latter two stuck with me.
For the last few weeks, I’ve been asking close friends, my wife, and Grok about a confirmation saint. My confirmation sponsor immediately went with Aquinas. But Augustine was up there since his return story has some similarities to mine. The others recommended and in the running were St. Joseph, St. Hyacinth (the patron saint of weightlifters), St. Jerome, and St. Sebastian. The latter is interesting because, if I recall correctly, I had picked him when I first started my confirmation process at St. Sebastian’s prep school. But I switched schools and never really thought about it again until now.
My conversation with Grok bordered on neurotic. I kept asking, and arguing, and when it hallucinated I called Grok names, and kept expanding the conversation. The conversation with Grok and with others kept coming back to either Aquinas or Augustine. A few good friends said to pray on it and to ask. After seeing a video of Father Chad Ripperger where he taught to be specific in your prayer, I asked specifically during my morning Lectio Divina.
That morning, when I checked my email, the first email I noticed was an article in the Claremont Digital Substack. That article was by one of my favorite political thinkers and philosophers, Daniel J. Mahoney. Mahoney also had a hand in my return to faith with his writings. The article was on Aquinas. Then, after reading it, I wondered if the fall issue of the Claremont Review of Books was out. I went to the site, and the first article I saw was by the famous Thomist, Edward Feser, whom I discovered while asking Grok and seeking answers for my confirmation. A Thomist, by the way, is a person who adheres to the grammar of Thomas Aquinas’s thinking. By agreeing with Aquinas, you’re not a Thomist per se, but if you adhere to or believe his grammar is correct, that, loosely, puts you into the Thomist camp.
Call it coincidence, but those two things cemented it for me. So, I chose Thomas Aquinas. And I want to learn the man and his theology.
Thomas Aquinas is arguably among the most consequential and famous philosophers to have ever lived, and one of the most famous theologians. He’s famous for having baptized Aristotle, taking Aristotle’s thought and seeing where it aligned with Christianity. His Summa Theologica is a masterpiece. In a quick summary, faith and reason are the hallmarks of Aquinas.
He’s a heavyweight of theology, philosophy, and Catholicism.
Now, I’m not going to read the entire Summa Theologica for Aquinas. Instead, I’ve curated a list of works.
Right now, as for how this topic will work, I imagine I will dive into a few, then dive out, likely dive into America again, and then back. But I know Aquinas is someone I will likely study for a lifetime.
The works curated are written by famous theologians, old and new:
G. K. Chesterton, Saint Thomas Aquinas: The Dumb Ox
Josef Pieper, Guide to Thomas Aquinas
Josef Pieper, The Human Wisdom of St. Thomas: A Breviary of Philosophy from the Works of St. Thomas Aquinas
Peter Kreeft, Summa of the Summa: The Essential Philosophical Passages of St. Thomas Aquinas’ Summa Theologica Edited and Explained for Beginners
Edward Feser, Aquinas: A Beginner’s Guide
Peter Kreeft, Practical Theology: Spiritual Direction from St. Thomas Aquinas
Josef Pieper, Faith, Hope, Love
From what I gather, that’s a good order to go in. The first few are relatively short. I would love takers. I would love to discuss these works, and I would love to discuss Aquinas. A lot of wisdom here is to be found, whether you want to deepen your faith or wish to discover the wisdom and thinking of a significant mind. Aquinas is a figure who has left, and will continue to leave, enormous influence and consequence in the world.
If you’d like to join in, go ahead and comment below. The Chesterton edition I’m reading is not as easy to find. I will find a few resources on where you can find it new or used. It’s on Amazon, but AbeBooks might also be another great resource. Cheap, terrible editions exist—the PDF-to-print formats that often miss text, or whole sections are changed or gone, I hope to help you avoid those.
If you wish to join in on any of them, let me know, and if you want to be a fly on the wall, go right ahead.
I’m working on an article for the new section. I’ll come up with a name for that section soon, but for now the article is in the works.