All the Essential Half-Truths about Higher Education

In this refreshing and original exploration, George Dennis O'Brien looks at higher education in America. O'Brien argues that to debate intelligently the future of education we must stop focusing on its ideals and look instead at its institutions. He does this by addressing nine half-truths, such as whether "low cost public education benefits the least advantaged in society," and goes on to examine how accurately they reflect the true state of higher education. The result is a thought-provoking discussion of the present challenges and future prospects of American higher education. "O'Brien's historical overview of the transition from 19th-century denominational colleges to 20th-century research-driven and largely secular ones is provocative. Cleverly written and well-focused, the book addresses the financial pressures facing higher education and asks vital questions about cutbacks and curricula."—Publishers Weekly "Lively, engaging, and richly suggestive." —Francis Oakley, Commonweal "O'Brien employs calm, powerful reason, without sensationalism. His perspective is illuminating. . . . All the Essential Half-Truths About Higher Education is one of the wisest and most useful treatments of American higher education." —John Attarian, Detroit News

Education & Teaching

O’Brien, George Dennis

Higher & Continuing Education

University of Chicago Press

In this refreshing and original exploration, George Dennis O'Brien looks at higher education in America. O'Brien argues that to debate intelligently the future of education we must stop focusing on its ideals and look instead at its institutions. He does this by addressing nine half-truths, such as whether "low cost public education benefits the least advantaged in society," and goes on to examine how accurately they reflect the true state of higher education. The result is a thought-provoking discussion of the present challenges and future prospects of American higher education.

George Bernard Shaw thought that a Catholic university was a contradiction in terms—"university" represents intellectual freedom and "Catholic" represents dogmatic belief. Scholars, university administrators, and even the Vatican have staked out positions debating Shaw's observation. In this refreshing book, George Dennis O'Brien argues that contradiction arises both from the secular university's limited concept of academic freedom and the church's defective notion of dogma. Truth is a central concept for both university and church, and O'Brien's book is built on the idea that there are different areas of truth—scientific, artistic, and religious—each with its own proper warrant and "method." In this light, he argues that one can reverse Shaw's comparison and uncover academic dogma and Christian freedom, university "infallibility" and dogmatic "fallibility." Drawing on theology and the history of philosophy, O'Brien shows how religious truth relates to the work of a Catholic university. He then turns to the current controversies over Pope John Paul II's recent statement, Ex Corde Ecclesiae, which seeks to make Catholic universities conform to the church's official teaching office. O'Brien rejects the conventional "institutional-juridical" model used by the Vatican as improper both to faith and academic freedom. He argues for a "sacramental" model, one that respects the different kinds of "truth"—thus preserving the integrity of both church and university while making their combination in a Catholic university not only possible but desirable. O'Brien concludes with a practical consideration of how the ideal Catholic university might be expressed in the actual life of the contemporary curriculum and extracurriculum. For anyone concerned about the place of religion in higher education, The Idea of a Catholic University will be essential reading.

The Idea of a Catholic University

Finding the Voice of the Church is written for a broad audience interested in the challenges facing the contemporary Catholic Church. These challenges are ones that should concern all Christians, not only Catholics. Noted scholar and commentator George Dennis O’Brien poses (and answers) three provocative questions: What is the proper voice of the church? Is there a voice of Christian faith? Can what is said about Christianity be fundamentally distorted by how it is said? Through his clear and relevant discussion of the basic content of Christianity, O’Brien concludes that the primary voice of Catholic Christianity, the papal teaching voice, must be radically “re-understood” if the Church is to be the proper medium and voice of the gospel message. O’Brien begins with the primary voice of the Church: baptism, gospel, and Eucharist. He contends that too much official teaching from the Roman magisterium to the local pulpit reverses the order of the ancient formula lex orandi, lex credendi (the law of prayer is the law of faith) and therefore misses its message. In the second part of the book, he turns to specific consideration of the papal voice as the teaching voice of the Church. O’Brien concludes with a series of practical suggestions for how the practices and institutions of the Church can again become the authentic voice of faith. This is a book all concerned Christians will want to read and discuss.

Finding the Voice of the Church

History

World

University of Notre Dame Press

In this disarmingly witty look at the disrepair of the divine, George Dennis O’Brien offers a guide for finding the sacred in the everyday. Christopher Lasch called the book, first published over twenty years ago, “an astute analysis of our spiritual malaise.” God and the New Haven Railway, with a new preface by the author, speaks to us still with humor and hope because neither God nor the railroad seems to be running much better today.

God and the New Haven Railway: and Why Neither One Is Doing Very Well

Humor & Entertainment

Humor

Examines the contemporary college experience and its mythical virtues as advertised in college guidebooks, and offers suggestions for choosing a school as well as adapting to all aspects of college life, from social activities to grades

What to Expect from College: A University President's Guide for Students and Parents

O’Brien, Dennis

St Martins Pr

Examines the contemporary college experience and its mythical virtues as advertised in college guidebooks, and offers suggestions for choosing a school as well as adapting to all aspects of college life, from social activities to grades

Schools & Teaching

God and the New Haven Railway and Why Neither One Is Doing Very Well

Beacon Press

This provocative book takes a critical look at what is increasingly viewed as the central political issue for Catholics—abortion. From pro-choice politicians being denied communion to Democrats being called "the party of death," for some of the most vocal Catholic leaders, the abortion issue often trumps all others. The author, a practicing Catholic who is against abortion in principle, believes the Church is on the wrong course with this issue, with grievous results for the Church and American society more broadly. He gives a brief history of abortion legislation, then explores the issue from legal, moral, and Christian perspectives, presenting compelling reasons why Church leaders and Catholics should stop trying to overturn Roe v. Wade and reconsider the issue.

The Church and Abortion: A Catholic Dissent

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by O’Brien, George Dennis. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by O’Brien, George Dennis

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by O’Brien, George Dennis. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

All the Essential Half-Truths about Higher Education

All the Essential Half-Truths about Higher Education

The Idea of a Catholic University

Finding the Voice of the Church

God and the New Haven Railway: and Why Neither One Is Doing Very Well

What to Expect from College: A University President's Guide for Students and Parents

What to Expect from College: A University President's Guide for Students and Parents

God and the New Haven Railway and Why Neither One Is Doing Very Well

The Church and Abortion: A Catholic Dissent