Various

During the course of his provocative essay “The Virtue of Hate” (February), Rabbi Meir Soloveichik refers to the Mishnaic tractate Ethics of the Fathers. It is a pity that he didn’t heed an important exhortation from that tractate: “O learned ones, do be careful with your words!” In . . . . Continue Reading »

Knowing the Love of Christ: An Introduction to the Theology of St. Thomas Aquinas. By Michael Dauphinais and Matthew Levering. University of Notre Dame Press. 146 pp. $14 paper. In the Prologue of the Summa Theologiae , Thomas Aquinas set forth his intent in the words of the Apostle, “As unto . . . . Continue Reading »

I was impressed by George Weigel’s provocative article, “Moral Clarity in a Time of War” (January), which applies the Catholic doctrine of just warfare—when it is to be engaged in and how it is to be conducted—to a possible preemptive war by the United States and whatever allies it can . . . . Continue Reading »

Religious Liberty in America: Political Safeguards. By Louis Fisher. University Press of Kansas. 266 pp. $16.95 paper. Louis Fisher surveys the full sweep of U.S. history”from colonial debates about religious liberty to modern judicial, legislative, and executive positions on the status of . . . . Continue Reading »

I read with considerable interest Carl E. Olson’s essay on the apocalyptic fever of Tim LaHaye’s vast readership (“ No End in Sight ,” November 2002). Mr. Olson’s description is more charitable towards this religious spasm than is mine. However, he makes one grotesque . . . . Continue Reading »

Monastic Visions: Wall Paintings in the Monastery of St. Antony at the Red Sea. Edited by Elizabeth S. Bolman. Yale University Press. 307 pp. $65. St. Antony is usually regarded as the father of Christian monasticism. He was deeply involved with the disputes of Arius and a staunch defender of . . . . Continue Reading »

I’m sure we are all pleased that the Linkers have been blessed with a son, as Damon Linker reports in “Fatherhood, 2002” (November 2002). Moreover, it is good to know that mother and child (and, we must now add, father) have passed successfully—indeed, . . . . Continue Reading »

Intelligent Design Creationism and Its Critics: Philosophical, Theological, and Scientific Perspectives Edited by Robert T. Pennock MIT Press, 805 pages, $45 Advocates of Darwinian naturalism would like us to believe that the universe simply flashed into existence one fine day all on its own; and . . . . Continue Reading »

The Limits of Globalization M. A. Casey ( “How to Think About Globalization,” October 2002) accurately portrays the secular elite’s inability to appreciate the depth of influence that religious cultures maintain over the actions of individuals, including those who were responsible . . . . Continue Reading »

After Aquinas: Versions of Thomism. By Fergus Kerr. Blackwell. 254 pp. $24.95 paper. “The problem with Thomism,” Flannery O’Connor once wrote, “is that it comes in such horrible wrappers.” Today’s students”if they read Thomas Aquinas at all”are likely to . . . . Continue Reading »