Various

Copyright (c) 1998 First Things 88 (December 1998): 2-8. Correspondence Religion and (or?) Freedom of Conscience In his fine essay “The Most New Thing in the Novus Ordo Seclorum ”(Public Square, August/September), Richard John Neuhaus points out John Noonan’s seeming tendency to “conflate . . . . 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 contraception. . . . . 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 he bought . . . . 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 »

Written on the Heart I liked J. Budziszewski’s emphasis on conscience as an active, rather than passive, force (“The Revenge of Conscience,” June/July). I want to take issue, though, with one point he makes early on concerning Paul’s so-called reference to natural law in Romans 2:14-15. . . . . Continue Reading »

Why Marriage Matters: Reasons to Believe in Marriage in PostModern Society. By Glenn T. Stantion. Piñon. 222 pages, $14. How many times have you heard it said that marriage is less risky if you live together first? That parents who can’t get along should divorce for the good of the kids? . . . . Continue Reading »

Arguing for Life Although Paul Swope ought to be commended for his interest in better communicating the pro-life message (“Abortion: A Failure to Communicate,” April), I believe his essay is flawed in at least two ways. First, Mr. Swope is mistaken in thinking that Americans in general . . . . Continue Reading »

Jews and the American Slave Trade. By Saul S. Friedman. Transaction. 326 pages, $34.95. After being been purged from American Christianity since the end of World War II, the practice of demonizing Jews is now more or less confined to fringe elements of the black community. Unfortunately, these . . . . Continue Reading »

On the Death Penalty I read James Nuechterlein’s essay “An Unwonted Uncertainty” (April) with appreciation of his intellectual uncertainty. As one who has studied and served in the fields of medicine, the military, and law enforcement, I would only carry his fine thoughts a little . . . . Continue Reading »

As a member of the Editorial Board of First Things since its inception, I protest the publication of David Klinghoffer’s “Anti-Semitism Without Anti-Semites” (April) . . . . The article is nothing less than evil”evil, not just misguided, because its intent is clearly to hurt, and without any . . . . Continue Reading »