From Samuel Finlay

James,

I came across something recently that I've been chewing on, and since you've read and written extensively on fighting it seemed like a good idea to seek your input. I realize this touches upon religion, and I would say at the beginning I mean no offense (the crack about Trent in the subject line notwithstanding); I'm trying to wrap my mind around something, and I'm sure y'all know a lot of things on this subject that I don't.

Over the past year or so, something has been changing in me for the better, and in trying to be as faithful to that as I can, I've found myself revisiting the older forms of the Church. A few months back, I came across a Catholic named Matt Fradd who's such a fan of St. Thomas Aquinas he has his own podcast he dubbed Pints with Aquinas, idea being every episode is kind of imagining of you at the bar having a beer with St. Thomas and asking him a question. Fradd and a guest then discuss what Aquinas might have said based on his writings. I'm not a Thomist, but it's interesting. On top of that, he's devoted a lot of work to trying to help address the toll that pornography can take on people, and encouraging them in cutting it out of their lives. Point being, he seems like a genuinely good dude whose heart is in the right place and is trying to get at the truth and help people.

On his Patreon feed he posted a video of himself and some friends discussing The Morality of UFC Something about that discussion troubled me. I'm not much of a devotee of sports in general, and I don't cotton the commercialization of violence (pro-wresting excluded; Stone Cold Steve Austin is a global icon and a national treasure and we must never forget what he did for us), particularly as the industry tries to get women to participate. This is to say nothing of that thing that happens to people; that look on someone's face when they delight in seeing gratuitous cruelty and humiliation visited upon someone. You can see it take hold of them and know you're looking at the stirrings of a monster ancient and primeval beyond understanding. I remember being on both sides of that as a kid and feeling disgusted afterward, so I think I grasp the reservations...

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