Various

Europe’s Problem or Ours? George Weigel’s provocative article, “Europe’s Problem”and Ours” (February) was interesting to me for two reasons. First, in the late 1950s, I served as Christopher Dawson’s teaching assistant in the Harvard Divinity School, where . . . . Continue Reading »

A Fierce Discontent: The Rise and Fall of the Progressive Movement in America, 1870-1920. By Michael McGerr. Free Press. 395 pp. $30. When historians get ambitious, they often get into trouble. In A Fierce Discontent , Michael McGerr has gathered an impressive amount of information about the . . . . Continue Reading »

I noted with interest Edward T. Oakes’ review of Luther (“Luther, the Movie,” January). His remarks about the film’s theological deficiencies were well founded. What I found disappointing were Father Oakes’ wholly unnecessary swipes at Lutheranism. Two can play at this . . . . Continue Reading »

“We Are Lincoln Men”: Abraham Lincoln and His Friends. By David Herbert Donald. Simon & Schuster. 269 pp. $25. David Herbert Donald, an eminent historian and the author of a splendid 1995 biography of Abraham Lincoln, has published an eloquent and absorbing reflection on Lincoln and . . . . Continue Reading »

I very much appreciated reading Philip Turner’s ruminations about “The Episcopalian Preference” (November 2003). I have thought about similar issues regarding the state of the Episcopal Church USA (ECUSA), most especially since the Presiding Bishop defended the General . . . . Continue Reading »

Questions of Faith: A Skeptical Affirmation of Faith. By Peter L. Berger. Blackwell. 187pp. $24.95. The noted sociologist of religion offers a candid statement of what he believes, and why. Tracking the articles of the Apostles’ Creed, the author of, among many other books, The Heretical . . . . Continue Reading »

To the extent that it is read by Catholic apologists and others who have a broad and deep knowledge of Europe in the 1930s and 40s, Martin Rhonheimer’s “The Holocaust: What Was Not Said” (November 2003) has considerable value. However, it will also be read by many who do not know . . . . Continue Reading »

The Wisdom of the World: The Human Experience of the Universe in Western Thought. By Rémi Brague. Translated by Teresa Lavender Fagan. University of Chicago Press. 228 pp. $35. Rémi Brague, a French philosopher and philologist, has composed a fascinating history of Western thought’s . . . . Continue Reading »

Your editorial statement “The Marriage Amendment” (October 2003) rests on two premises: 1) the definition of marriage as a union between a man and a woman, and 2) the belief that the federal government should sanction this definition and have the power to confer benefits based upon it. In . . . . Continue Reading »

Style and Faith: Essays. By Geoffrey Hill. Counterpoint. 218 pp. $25. This slim but dense collection of Geoffrey Hill’s recent essays is marked by a complex engagement with Anglo-Christianity and the English language. Many of these pieces are written against bumptious scholarship and facile . . . . Continue Reading »