Background
Hitchcock, James Francis was born on February 13, 1938 in St. Louis. Son of George Francis and Stella Anne (Martin) Hitchcock.
(How the Christian West Was Lost Secular Humanism has bec...)
How the Christian West Was Lost Secular Humanism has become a deeply influential and highly successful movement. Our schools, government, mass media, courts, and even our churches have fallen under the sway of ideas that proclaim man's independence from God and assert his freedom to shape his own future. The philosophy that declares "no deity will save us; we must save ourselves" has quietly woven its way into the fabric of our daily lives. What Is Secular Humanism? probes the origins of this dynamic movement, its momentum through history, its present impact on Western civilization, and its probable future course. With the keen perspective of a professional historian, James Hitchcock shows how Secular Humanism emerged during the Enlightenment as a full-fledged philosophical system, antagonistic toward Christianity, with a distinct program for government, human ethics, and morality. Secular humanist ideas have spread so widely and deeply, he says, that Christians often fail to recognize that these ideas now provide the dominant model for man's view of himself and his world. James Hitchcock does not simply condemn Secular Humanism, as many do today. Rather, he argues persuasively that Secular Humanism is a betrayal of true humanism. The sickness of Western society-its intellectual exhaustion, moral decadence, social discontent, and political failures-can be traced to its dependence on a system of ideas that work against man's true identity. Hitchcock calls for Christians to lead the way in restoring true humanism-the belief that genuine human progress and fulfillment must be based on the recognition that man is dependent on God.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000I416HY/?tag=2022091-20
(James Hitchcock gives an extraordinarily incisive analysi...)
James Hitchcock gives an extraordinarily incisive analysis of the liturgical abuse and destructive liturgical reforms brought about by professional liturgists and other "experts" over the last thirty years. Hitchcock chronicles the havoc wreaked by modern liturgists who abandoned the noble purposes of the classical (pre-1965) Liturgical Movement whose aim was to deepen people's appreciation of the inexhaustible mystery of the liturgy by elevating the practice of the liturgy to incorporate neglected riches of earlier centuries, especially the Patristic Age. Instead of seeking a deeper understanding of the great traditions of the Church through the ages, liturgists have sought "relevance" by means of continued adaptation to contemporary culture. Hitchcock reveals how the tendency toward a desacralized liturgy has had the most profound effects on the whole life of the Church, as well as society. One's basic approach to liturgy is likely to be both a reflection and a catalyst to a whole range of values and beliefs. As Hitchcock states, "It is impossible to change basic symbols and rituals without also changing the life of the society whose symbols and rituals they are." "With typical clarity, Hitchcock indicts recent theological and liturgical attempts to suburbanize the Heavenly City. What was prophecy when it was first published, now is sober reflection. There is hope here for surviving the most tragic self-mutilation of Catholic culture since the Arian crisis of the fourth century." - Fr. George Rutler Author, Beyond Modernity Dr. James Hitchcock, a native of St. Louis, has a graduate degree from Princeton University. He has taught history at St. Louis University for almost 30 years. He is widely published in both scholarly and popular journals, and he is the past president of the Fellowship of Catholic Scholars.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0898705444/?tag=2022091-20
(What is Secular Humanism?: Why Humanism Became Secular an...)
What is Secular Humanism?: Why Humanism Became Secular and How It is Changing Our World (Servant Publications), Trade paperback
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0892831634/?tag=2022091-20
Hitchcock, James Francis was born on February 13, 1938 in St. Louis. Son of George Francis and Stella Anne (Martin) Hitchcock.
AB, St. Louis University, 1960. Master of Arts, Princeton University, 1962. Doctor of Philosophy, Princeton University, 1965.
Doctor of Humane Letters (honorary), Benedictine College, 1972. Doctor of Humane Letters (honorary), Franciscan University, 1980.
Assistant professor history St. Johns University, Jamaica, New York, 1964-1966. Professor history St. Louis University, since 1966. Board chairman Catholic League for Civil Rights, Milwaukee, 1980-1985.
(James Hitchcock gives an extraordinarily incisive analysi...)
(What is Secular Humanism?: Why Humanism Became Secular an...)
(How the Christian West Was Lost Secular Humanism has bec...)
(Book by Hitchcock, James)
Member American History Association, Catholic History Society, Fellowship of Catholic Scholars (president 1981, Cardinal Wright award 1981).
Married Helen Hull, November 24, 1966. Children: Alexandra, Consuelo, Hilary, Louisa.