Various

On Killing Abortionists The symposium "Killing Abortionists" (December 1994) saddens me. There are two things wrong with it: (1) The participants, even when they regard the killing as wrong, fail to recognize that Paul Hill is an extension of themselves and that they are in no position to . . . . Continue Reading »

From Newton’s Sleep by Joseph Vining Princeton University Press. 368 pp. $24.95 This original book by distinguished Michigan legal scholar Joseph Vining finds surprising treasures hidden in lawyers’ ways of knowing. The title refers to William Blake’s vision of minds becalmed and . . . . Continue Reading »

More on Marital Power Upon reading Mona Scheuermann’s “Letter to a Colleague” (November 1994) concerning “power relations” in marriage, I was reminded of the time a young woman from a “Human Relations” class at our local university came to . . . . Continue Reading »

Romans: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary by Joseph A. Fitzmeyer, S.J. Doubleday. 793 pages, $40 Fitzmeyer’s new commentary on Romans is more than a commentary, it is an encyclopedia of the interpretation of Romans. His verse by verse exposition of the text is balanced and . . . . Continue Reading »

Copyright (c) 1993 First Things 49 (January 1995): 2-7 Mean-Spirited? Roman Numerals & Orthodoxies Onward Christian Soldiers? Right and Left on Cuba Was Jesus Anti-Semitic? A Plea for Tolerance Fight for Christian Rights The Great Fear Revisited Lay Off the Jesuits Racing Down the Slope . . . . Continue Reading »

William F. May On one take, a trick picture at a carnival appears to be a gargoyle; but, at a second glance, the Mona Lisa shines through. Shel Silverstein’s The Giving Tree is no visual trick, but the story intrigues because it provokes quite contrary interpretations. On first reading, the . . . . Continue Reading »

Jack: A Life of C.S. Lewis by George Sayer Crossway. 423 pp. $13.99 paper Most biographies of C. S. Lewis so far have been hagiographical chronicles, the great exception being A. N. Wilson’s notorious warts-and-all treatment, which, though it has unfairly been called a hatchet job, would . . . . Continue Reading »

The Real Story I read with interest and agreement Edward S. Shapiro’s “Blacks and Jews Entangled” (August/September). While there exist shared experiences of oppression, Shapiro notes quite correctly that a black-Jewish relationship should not be based on fanciful notions derived . . . . Continue Reading »

Marcia Segelstein Shortly after the birth of her daughter, talk show host Kathie Lee Gifford joked with David Letterman about her decision to stop breast-feeding then-six-week-old Cassidy. Her joke went something like this. The dresses Kathie Lee would be wearing to co-host the upcoming Miss . . . . Continue Reading »

Paul J. Hill, convicted of killing an abortionist and his security guard in Pensacola, Florida, has advanced the following rationale for his action: “Whatever force is legitimate in defending a born child is legitimate in defending an unborn child.” For some who believe that the moral status of . . . . Continue Reading »