Various

We are servants of a disputed sovereignty. The psalmist declares, “God mounts his throne to shouts of joy.” Christ has ascended his throne, but his rule is challenged by rival thrones. For us who believe, St. Paul says it is the fact that Christ rules “far above every principality, authority, power, and dominion.” … Continue Reading »

The Heat Is On I’d like to add a point to William Anderson’s “Some Like It Warm” (February 2010). The belief held by those who are left of center that peer review is always reliable runs up against other leftist beliefs. One is that the criminal-justice system is not reliable. . . . . Continue Reading »

The Gestalt of the Book in Questio n I was disappointed to see”in Paul Griffith’s review, in the January 2010 issue, of Carlos Eire’s A Very Brief History of Eternity ”some unclarity about Eire’s own commitments to the Catholic Church. Although it is true that Eire does . . . . Continue Reading »

1990 Liberal public opinion found it easier to accept the defections from the pro-Soviet cause than from the radical movement of the 1960s. —The Bad Old Daysby Paul Hollander,April 1990 Capitalism’s relentless erosion of proprietary institutions furnishes the clearest evidence of its . . . . Continue Reading »

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A Protestant Education Thank you for the fine article by Jason Byassee and L. Gregory Jones (“Methodists & Microcredit,” November 2009), which demonstrated wonderfully the similarities between grassroots capitalism and a charismatic call to build holy faith communities. Although the . . . . Continue Reading »

The War Between the Sexless Mary Eberstadt (“What Does Woman Want?” October 2009) and the authors (Caitlyn Flanagan and Sandra Tsing Loh) whose articles she reviews seem to miss the entire purpose of sexual intercourse. Sexual intercourse is an outward expression of the exclusive love . . . . Continue Reading »

The Wine Of Certitude: A Literary Biography Of Ronald Knox by David Rooney Ignatius, 412 pages, $17.95 paper Any man who elicited the veneration of Evelyn Waugh and could do the Times crossword in his head without benefit of pencil deserves more than one biography. There have been biographies of . . . . Continue Reading »

Cranky and Getting Crankier In his June/July Public Square column, Joseph Bottum claims that the three infallible signs of cranks are that they have a theory about the Jews, a theory about money, and a theory about Shakespeare’s plays. This is a gross oversimplification that leaves vast swaths of . . . . Continue Reading »

Mortal Follies: Episcopalians and the Crisis of Mainline Christianity by William Murchison Encounter, 215 pages, $25.95 The Episcopal Church, grande dame of mainline Protestantism, is not what she used to be. Of course, we all know that, but William Murchison, longtime Episcopalian and columnist . . . . Continue Reading »