Support | Athanasius Contra Mundum

I am currently raising money to translate St. Robert Bellarmine’s works into English (works which have never been in English). This is a daunting task and requires my full time energy. It also means acquiring the funds to pay for bills and food while doing this. So this is why I have decided to raise the money to maintain myself translating. The formal site is here.

Bellarmine is one of the most important theologians since the Council of Trent, and in the manuals on nearly any discipline Bellarmine is the most frequently cited (except in morals where St. Alphonsus is more commonly cited). Bellarmine lays down principles in theology, solves problems, and heavily quoted the objections of the contemporary Protestants. He was hugely fundamental to the work of Vatican I, and an opponent of absolutist monarchy. It is one of the tragedy’s of the loss of Latin in our educated culture that Bellarmine is not accessible to most, even to bright individuals. The goal of the project is to change that.

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Websites come and go, often because they are the pet projects on the side of people who find their web-time taken over by real life issues.

This was the case for me several years ago when I shut down the original Athanasius Contra Mundum. In restarting the website, I am giving my time to produce material for you that I hope you will find beneficial, not only in Ecclesial issues but also in history, politics, or whatever other work I produce.
In ancient Greece, there was a class of Philosophers called the “Sophists”, (σοφιστής in Greek) which has the sense of “Wise-guys” in Plato’s dialogues. These early philosophers were criticized by Socrates for their practice of charging money and only giving wisdom to those who could pay. For this reason they are often the antagonists of most of Plato’s dialogues. Socrates by contrast did not charge money, though he did indeed receive money from patrons, which allowed him to teach anyone who would learn.
My philosophy is the same, I am just not as smart as Socrates. I am not, however, creating a subscriber only website to provide material for those who can pay, particularly in these troubling economic times (Yes, I know troubling is a light word!). I am not looking to make bank, everything I receive will go to bills. Thus, I have put up the donation button to receive what you will, based on the quality of my work. If you give nothing, I will produce anyway. I do ask however, that if you can’t offer anything, please instead offer up prayers for my soul and my family’s well-being. Thank you for anything you can or will provide.