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That Evangelical Manifesto

From the Aug/Sept 2008 Print Edition

The Public SquareIt was rolled out at the National Press Club on May 7 with the usual bells and whistles of the public relations machinery. Whether it will survive its much less than fifteen minutes of the national news cycle is uncertain. Nonetheless, it deserves attention and possibly could become . . . . Continue Reading »

Benedict in America

From the Aug/Sept 2008 Print Edition

In saying that one must guard against superlatives in recounting Pope Benedict’s apostolic visit this April, one acknowledges that superlatives are not easy to resist. The enthusiasm of the crowds, the massive coverage and frequently glowing commentary of the media, the respectful attentiveness . . . . Continue Reading »

Babylon, Then and Now

From Web Exclusives

I’m working away at a new book, tentatively titled American Babylon: Notes of a Christian Exile . It will be a greatly expanded version of the argument set out in an earlier article [ Our American Babylon , First Things , December 2005]. In the course of my research, I’ve been delving into . . . . Continue Reading »

We Shall Not Weary,
We Shall Not Rest

From Web Exclusives

The following address, described by Robert P. George as “the greatest pro-life speech ever given,” was delivered by Richard John Neuhaus at the close of the 2008 convention of the National Right to Life Committee. —Ed. Once again this year, the National Right to Life convention is partly a . . . . Continue Reading »

Tim Russert and the Follies of Life

From Web Exclusives

The outpouring of tributes to Tim Russert on his death at age 58 was both surprising and well deserved. There was a palpable sense of guilt in the many descriptions of him by his colleagues in the commentariat. They frequently seemed to be saying that he was such a genuine human being uncompromised . . . . Continue Reading »

Theodicy and the Narrow Escape Syndrome

From Web Exclusives

Let it be said at the outset that James Wood is a splendid literary critic, one of our best. One of the things that make him interesting is that he can’t get over the “God problem.” Wood is a product of what I have called the narrow escape syndrome. That is to say, he was reared in a . . . . Continue Reading »

W. Norris Clarke, S.J. — RIP

From First Thoughts

He was, over his long life, the indefatigable teacher, enthusiastically discovering with each new generation of students at Fordham University the inexhaustible riches of the Angelic Doctor. In season and out, he sought to demonstrate, in the face of every new philosophical fashion or school, that . . . . Continue Reading »

The Dishonorable Daughter

From Web Exclusives

“Honor your father and your mother.” As the Church Fathers wrote, there are things we know simply by virtue of being human but then, after we alienated ourselves from the source of our humanity, God gave us the Decalogue to remind us of those things. One of those things is that we should . . . . Continue Reading »