Maritain and the Jews

by Michael Novak

Maritain viewed the history of Judaism as a mystery linked to the fate of the entire . . . . Continue Reading »

1 Jan 1993

The Inescapability of Metaphysics

by Marion Montgomery

We as academicians are “lovers of wisdom” first and last, and should we not be so, we would be serving under false pretenses as professors of higher education. To love wisdom is not, of course, to be wise, as if our beginning were our end. To love wisdom is to desire and labor toward wisdom . . . . Continue Reading »

1 Jan 1993

A Primer on the Devil

by Walter Sundberg

As modern religionists, we face a curious predicament when we think of the Devil. On the one hand, we know that the forests and glens of Western culture have been cleared of the spirits and goblins that frightened our ancestors. When we are sick, we take a pill. When we are scared by some . . . . Continue Reading »

1 Jan 1993

Briefly Noted 205

by Various

Theology and Dialogue edited by bruce d. marshall university of notre dame press, 302 pages, $14.95 paper. These “essays in conversation with George Lindbeck” are also essays in deserved celebration of a thinker who has done as much as anyone in the last half-century to advance ecumenical . . . . Continue Reading »

1 Jan 1993

Creator or Blind Watchmaker?

by Phillip E. Johnson

As a notorious critic of Darwinism, I enjoy reading a newsletter called Basis, which is published by an organization calling itself the San Francisco Bay Area Skeptics. These self-styled skeptics take a very dim view of anyone who suggests that the Darwinian theory of evolution might be an . . . . Continue Reading »

1 Jan 1993

Cult and Culture

by Peter J. Leithart

Ecclesiastical anarchism has a long history in American Christianity, but few have gone quite as far as James H. Rutz, whose new book, The Open Church, had a prominent advertising spread in World, an evangelical news magazine. To his credit, Rutz has identified some of the glaring . . . . Continue Reading »

1 Jan 1993

Baptism and Development

by Joan Frawley Desmond

In the north Indian state of Bihar, there are indigenous peoples who never converted to the Hinduism of the Aryan people that conquered and settled India long ago. Some of these tribals, as they are called, exist in another century, perhaps another millennium. In one hamlet, there is a well for . . . . Continue Reading »

1 Jan 1993

When Shepherds Go Astray

by Richard John Neuhaus

The Public Square Donahue, Oprah, and Geraldo have all had a grand time weighing in on the subject, and Father Andrew Greeley has been writing up a storm denouncing “the silence” of the Church about it. In the foreword to a new hook, Greeley says that priestly pedophilia is “perhaps the most . . . . Continue Reading »

1 Jan 1993

Apology to Starlings

by D. Q. McInerny

Starlings may mean more than we supposed,Their ugliness but a guiseHiding beauties too deep to probe.Look how they adorn the barren oak,Mimicking so many black and restless leaves,Remnants, making what to them is musicAgainst a sky whose blue is nearly white,This winter day as still as God’s own . . . . Continue Reading »

1 Jan 1993

The Camera and the Sandwich

by George A. Tobin

The late Sam Kinison, an incomparably loud and invariably offensive comedian, once delivered a comedy routine about famine. He remarked that whenever he sees heart-rending scenes of famine victims he wonders, “How come the film crew didn’t just give the kid a sandwich? How come you never see . . . . Continue Reading »

1 Dec 1992