Madame Blavatsky’s Baboon: History of the Mystics, Mediums, and Misfits Who Brought Spiritualism to America By Peter Washington Shocken. 470 pp. $27.50 Madame Helena Blavatsky, the founder of Theosophy, kept a stuffed baboon in her study to symbolize her rejection of Darwinian materialism. The . . . . Continue Reading »
Judicial Power and American Character: Censoring Ourselves in an Anxious Age By Robert F. Nagel Oxford University Press, 208 Pages, $29.95 Robert Nagel, a Professor of Law at the University of Colorado, could have subtitled his new book “The Culture Wars Come to the Supreme Court.” It is . . . . Continue Reading »
The Soul of the American University: From Protestant Establishment to Established Non-Belief By George Marsden Oxford University Press, 424 pages, $35 Faith and Knowledge: Mainline Protestantism and American Higher Education By Douglas Sloan Westminster/John Knox, 336 pages, $20 The last time I . . . . Continue Reading »
The Culture of Disbelief: How American Law and Politics Trivialize Religious Devotion by Stephen L. Carter Basic Books, 328 pages, $25 Yale Law Professor Stephen L. Carter’s first book, Reflections of an Affirmative Action Baby , opened with the arresting observation that “To be black . . . . Continue Reading »
In Search of Human Nature: The Decline and Revival of Darwinism in American Social Thought by Carl Degler Oxford University Press, 400 pages, $24.95 In the beginning, Charles Darwin explained how human beings evolved from animals by natural selection. One might have expected that this revelation . . . . Continue Reading »
When President Bush nominated Judge Clarence Thomas to a vacancy on the United States Supreme Court, liberals opposed to confirming the nomination at first directed critical scrutiny to statements the nominee had made in favor of employing “natural law” in constitutional interpretation. . . . . Continue Reading »
As a notorious critic of Darwinism, I enjoy reading a newsletter called Basis, which is published by an organization calling itself the San Francisco Bay Area Skeptics. These self-styled skeptics take a very dim view of anyone who suggests that the Darwinian theory of evolution might be an . . . . Continue Reading »
Chapter and Verse: A Skeptic Revisits Christianity by Mike Bryan Random House, 324 pages, $22 Mike Bryan is an atheist, raised a Methodist, who wanted to write a book about “Christians who actually believe the Bible versus all the other kinds.” So he spent time in residence at Criswell . . . . Continue Reading »
The Presbyterian Church (USA) has done the sensible thing and rejected the report of its Task Force on Human Sexuality (“Keeping Body and Soul Together: Sexuality, Spirituality, and Social Justice”). But the report continues to merit close examination; one can assume that the ideas . . . . Continue Reading »
(Editors’ note: The October issue of First Things featured Phillip Johnson’s essay, “Evolution as Dogma: The Establishment of Naturalism,” along with responses to the essay by William B. Provine, Gareth Nelson, Irving Kristol, Thomas H. Jukes, and Matthew Berke. Herewith . . . . Continue Reading »
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