Reflections on Father Neuhaus at Commentary

Over at Commentary, Seth Mandel pays tribute to the late (and much missed) Richard John Neuhaus by writing a little about Neuhaus’ last book, American Babylon:

My preference among Neuhaus’s works for American Babylon is because it grapples with the subject of living in religious exile and what it means to be a good citizen to a secular state in such exile. This is a question that obviously means much to the American Jewish community as well, and so it’s valuable to see how a non-Jew, especially one as erudite as Neuhaus, approaches the question. Additionally, I think American Babylon’s relevance has unfortunately only increased since he wrote it—since that means the state’s encroachment on private religious practice has continued unabated.

But there’s also another reason I think the book is so beneficial to Jewish readers. Because of the troubled history between Christians and Jews, and because Christian politics have become so identified with the American right while Jews have been identified with the American left, there is still too much mutual suspicion.

You can read the rest here. Mandel’s piece made me wish that Neuhaus were still alive to hear Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks’ Erasmus lecture, “On Creative Minorities.”

Since this week marks the fifth anniversary of Neuhaus’ death, we have been re-running some of the pieces from his memorial issue. Today’s piece is Arthur Simon’s “Bread Upon the Waters,” and yesterday’s was Robert Louis Wilken’s “Evening Prayer.”