Various

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 interaction . . . . 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 »

Questions of Reform In “True and False Reform.” (August/September), Avery Cardinal Dulles displays his usual clarity and forthrightness. I do, however, differ from him in a nuanced but important way regarding the pastoral theology of Vatican II. I believe that the strength of his exposition on . . . . Continue Reading »

Sidewalks in the Kingdom: New Urbanism and the Christian Faith. By Eric O. Jacobsen. Brazos. 192 pp. $16.99 paper. This readable, albeit modest, volume gives the average Christian reader a window into the problems associated with contemporary urban (and suburban) life and meditates upon the ways . . . . Continue Reading »

Harsh Realities or Handy Myths? In “The Women of Roe v. Wade ” (June/July) Mary Ann Glendon’s description of the historical and legal context in which Roe v. Wade occurred omits an important part of that context. There were many abortions in the United States”both legal and illegal”long . . . . Continue Reading »

Darwin and Design: Does Evolution Have a Purpose?. By Michael Ruse. Harvard University Press. 371 pp. $29.95. With a palpable twinge of defensiveness, the French biologist Lucien Cuénot once boldly asserted, “It is not foolhardy to believe that the eye is made for seeing.” No . . . . Continue Reading »

Who’s in Hell? Avery Cardinal Dulles’ characteristically clear and comprehensive article “The Population of Hell” (May) brings home a concern that many of us share with even saintly people of the past. The question of the salvation of the apparent unbeliever or of the . . . . Continue Reading »

Islam: A Guide for Jews and Christians. By F. E. Peters. Princeton University Press. 285 pp. $28. Clearly the reading public needs a book describing Islam that avoids trendy multiculturalism as well as Christian rejectionism. That is precisely what F. E. Peters provides in this lucid guide. Peters . . . . Continue Reading »

In “Ordaining Women: Two Views” (April), Sarah Hinlicky Wilson writes that “if the female cannot represent Christ because of her femininity, it is hard to understand how Christ in his masculinity can represent her in his death and resurrection.” It is not the case that a . . . . Continue Reading »