Various

Copyright (c) 1999 First Things 91 (March 1999): 9, 26, 32. Bedtime and Weekly Our toddler slices the air with a bandaged finger, her makeshift cross more complete by her young, scratched skin, a reminder of all our “boo“boo’s” piling up in the flesh till we cry out our . . . . Continue Reading »

The Future of Islam and the West: Clash of Civilizations or Peaceful Coexistence? by Shireen T. Hunter Center for Strategic and International Studies,197 pages, $55 cloth, $17.95 paper The subject of Islam’s relations to the rest of the world, in particular to the West, continues to fascinate . . . . Continue Reading »

Wrestling with Original Sin Edward T. Oakes does an admirable job of addressing the three objections to the doctrine of original sin in “Original Sin: A Disputation” (November 1998). Moreover, Father Oakes’ description of the consequences of dismissing original sin in favor of a . . . . Continue Reading »

What Went Wrong with Vatican II: The Catholic Crisis Explained by Ralph M. McInerny Sophia Institute Press, 168 pages, $14.95. Don’t be misled by the rather alarming title: Ralph McInerny’s new book is not another chronicle of the Council’s supposed blunders, nor another . . . . Continue Reading »

Virgin Power I wish to express my profound joy at having read Sarah E. Hinlicky’s article “Subversive Virginity” (October 1998). Not only is it sparklingly written and lucidly argued, but its mere presence in print is a rare statement of moral support for those of us who had begun . . . . Continue Reading »

Staring into Chaos: Explorations in the Decline of Western Civilization. By B. G. Brander. Spence. 418 pp. $29.95 . This fin“de“siècle has seen much less talk about “decline” and “degeneration” than the last time around, probably because the idea of . . . . Continue Reading »

FILENAME: correspondence.doc ORIGINAL AUTHOR: First Things Journal #88 HTML AUTHOR: Byron Barlowe HTML CREATED: 8-Dec-98 2:53 PM ”> Correspondence (December 1998) Copyright (c) 1998 First Things 88 (December 1998): 2-8. Religion and (or?) Freedom of Conscience In his fine essay “The . . . . Continue Reading »

Harold O. J. Brown Thirty years ago Pope Paul VI issued the encyclical Humanae Vitae (“Of Human Life”). It came as a chilling blast to liberal Catholics and others-the population control establishment, for example-who hoped for a major change in the Church’s stand on artificial . . . . Continue Reading »

Nicholas of Myra Patron Saint of Pawnbrokers In the company of “publicans and sinners,” and the poor trading penknives for pocketfuls of bread, the pawnbroker stands by his glass counter, buys and sells portions of strangers’ lives. Some days he looks in the family heirloom mirror . . . . Continue Reading »

Abraham Geiger and the Jewish Jesus. By Susannah Heschel. University of Chicago Press. 317 pages, $48 cloth, $19 paper. One of the founding fathers of the modern Western study of Judaism, Abraham Geiger (1810-74) continues to fascinate. In this learned and lucid investigation of his bold . . . . Continue Reading »