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Henry Hope Reed, Defender of Decoration

The distinguished architectural historian Henry Hope Reed died May 1 at age ninety-seven. More than any cultural figure of his generation, Reed perpetuated an awareness of the classical tradition’s enduring role as the indispensable means for improving the human habitat … Continue Reading »

If Women Ran the World

Writing for The Atlantic in September of 2012, Hanna Rosin argued that the “hookup culture” so prevalent on college campuses and in the lives of young adults is “an engine of female progress”one being harnessed and driven by women themselves.” She wrote: “To put it crudely, feminist progress right now largely depends on the existence of the hookup culture” … Continue Reading »

Jewish Concerns about History Channel’s The Bible

The popularity of the History Channel’s The Bible shows that Americans still yearn for inspiration from the Greatest Story Ever Told. For all of its positive power, however, The Bible may inadvertently perpetuate negative images of Jews and Judaism. For centuries, dramatic presentations of the biblical narrative were bad news for Jews… . Continue Reading »

Salvation by Technique

From the French Revolution onward we’ve entertained dreams of a single, profound, and decisive moment that will transform society, or even human nature itself. Marxism provides an obvious example, as does Hitler’s National Socialism and its promise of a New Man. But there are others as well… . Continue Reading »

Angelina Jolie’s Choice, and Ours

Angelina Jolie has gone public with her decision to have a preventative double mastectomy at age thirty-seven. She lost her mother young to cancer, and her doctors urged her to remove her breasts after she underwent testing that placed her in a high-risk category for future cancer… . Continue Reading »

Euphemisms as Political Manipulation

Americans have lost the art of honest debate. Perhaps better stated, we have thrown it away. Advocates on all sides of political and cultural spectrums cynically manipulate public opinion through focus group“tested obfuscating words and phrases rather than persuade through candid and accurate descriptions of advocacy agendas… . Continue Reading »

Rabbi Gilles Bernheim’s Plagiarism

I regret the need to report this, but I must. In the March issue we published “Homosexual Marriage, Parenting, and Adoption,” written by Gilles Bernheim, Chief Rabbi of France. Or so we thought. It turns out that Rabbi Bernheim plagiarized some portions… . Continue Reading »

How Does God Still Speak?

Until recent decades at least, nearly all Americans have believed in an unchanging God, “the same yesterday, today, and forever.” If God does not change, does God’s manner and rate of revelation change over time? Typically, those who have wrestled with the issue of canon in the history of American religion have made only crude differentiation among different groups. … Continue Reading »

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