A non-Catholic elaborates on the opportunity of the Church to concern itself with spirituality at the same time accommodating the values of modern life

The Catholic Moment: The Paradox of the Church in the Postmodern World

Neuhaus, Richard John

Religion & Spirituality

Harpercollins

An even-tempered (if rather partisan) critique of the American soul as it exhibits itself on the different fronts of our ``culture war.'' Neuhaus (Unsecular America, 1986, etc.) traces the traumas of our social and political life back to their ontological roots and supplies a prognosis that will undoubtedly scandalize as many as it sways. A Catholic priest and scholar who presides over the Institute of Religion and Public Life, Neuhaus has concentrated his sociological efforts for some years now on the intersection between the political and the spiritual in American life. In doing so, he has run counter to prevailing notions of secularism--held only, he maintains, by an elite minority--that would, he says, collapse all religious impulses into an entirely private realm. Neuhaus skips over the more obvious examples of conflict--school prayer, Nativity scenes in public parks, etc.--and attempts in more theoretical terms to show that liberal democracy (in its American incarnation) requires a religious foundation if it is to succeed as a unifying social force. He draws on his experiences with the civil-rights movement to show how a religious vocabulary can be used--as it was by Martin Luther King--to bring together even the most mutually antagonistic groups. One might question Neuhaus's optimism in light of the increasing lack of cohesion in most mainline churches today, and parts of his argument display an inclination toward the sort of ``throne-and-altar'' alliance that has bedeviled European reactionaries for two hundred years--but his analysis of the seeming void around which the ``secular'' consensus is built, and the fragility of the social structures that depend upon that consensus, is challenging, prescient, and ominous. And his chapters on the abortion issue, while hardly impartial, are remarkably free of the usual cant. A trifle glib and overconfident, Neuhaus's tone can irritate. His thesis, however, is original enough to compel attention and forceful enough to provoke thought. -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

America Against Itself: Moral Vision and the Public Order

History

Americas

University of Notre Dame Press

America Against Itself: Philosophy

Here, in the spirit of Bruce Feiler's beloved bestseller Walking the Bible, is a portrait of the Holy Land as a physical embodiment of faith. Dramatically conjuring the beauty of Israel's countryside, In the Steps of the Master also evokes the all-consuming passions and deep-rooted mysteries of Jerusalem—and while much has changed, as Morton says, the essential nature of the sites he visits has not.

In The Steps Of The Master

MORTON, H.V.

World

Da Capo

Christians are by their nature a people out of place. Their true home is with God; in civic life, they are alien citizens in but not of the world.” In American Babylon, eminent theologian Richard John Neuhaus examines the particular truth of that ambiguity for Catholics in America today.
Neuhaus addresses the essential quandaries of Catholic lifeassessing how Catholics can keep their heads above water in the sea of immorality that confronts them in the world, how they can be patriotic even though their true country is not in this world, and how they might reconcile their duties as citizens with their commitment to God. Deeply learned, frequently combative, and always eloquent, American Babylon is Neuhaus's magnum opusand will be essential reading for all Christians.

American Babylon: Notes of a Christian Exile

Basic Books

Several years ago, a ruptured tumor almost killed Richard John Neuhaus. During a series of complicated operations, weeks in critical condition, and months in slow recovery, he was brought face to face with his own mortality. As he lay dying and, as it turned out, recovering, he found that despite his faith he had been quite unprepared for the experience. This book traces his efforts to understand his own reactions and those of his friends and family, and explores how we as a culture understand and deal with death.As I Lay Dying testifies that dying is-and is not-part of living. We can and should live our dying. Neuhaus interweaves his own story with thoughtful inquiry, circling through philosophy, psychology, literature, theology, and his own experiences to create provocative meditations that explore the many aspects of dying: the private and public experience, the separation of the soul from the body, grief, surrender, and mourning. The result is a book that shakes the foundations of our being-and yet is oddly and convincingly tranquil.

As I Lay Dying

Politics & Social Sciences

Social Sciences

"A profoundly serious rumination on the meaning of life and especially on the meaning of death. Father Neuhaus's book prompts us to think seriously about our own inevitable death, as well as the way we are leading our current lives." --Wall Street Journal.

As I Lay Dying: Meditations Upon Returning

Parenting & Relationships

If what Christians say about Good Friday is true,” writes Richard John Neuhaus toward the beginning of his new book, then it is, quite simply, the truth about everything.” Numerous writers and composers have been captivated by the suggestiveness of the Seven Last Words; Haydn, Beethoven, and Dvo?rák composed major works around them, and such writers as James Joyce, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Dylan Thomas, and Samuel Beckett return to them again and again. But Richard John Neuhaus's sustained exploration of these utterances is something altogether different. Through them he plumbs the depths of human experience and sets forth the central narrative of Western civilizationthe suffering, death, and resurrection of Christin a way that engages the attention of believers, unbelievers, and those who are not sure what they believe.Was it necessary for Christ to die? Is it necessary that we suffer and die? If so, why? What is the connection between the undeniable fact of evil in the world and some ultimate justice? Does justice require punishment and, if so, how can it be just that the one person who was not guilty should suffer such a cruel death? In a culture devoted to pleasure and the avoidance of suffering is it possible that bad things are somehow redemptive? Neuhaus invites the reader into a spiritual and intellectual exploration of the dark side of human experience with the promise of light and life on the far side of darkness.

Death On A Friday Afternoon: Meditations On The Last Words Of Jesus From The Cross

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Neuhaus, Richard John. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Neuhaus, Richard John

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Neuhaus, Richard John. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The Catholic Moment: The Paradox of the Church in the Postmodern World

The Catholic Moment: The Paradox of the Church in the Postmodern World

America Against Itself: Moral Vision and the Public Order

America Against Itself: Philosophy

In The Steps Of The Master

American Babylon: Notes of a Christian Exile

American Babylon: Notes of a Christian Exile

As I Lay Dying

As I Lay Dying: Meditations Upon Returning

Death On A Friday Afternoon: Meditations On The Last Words Of Jesus From The Cross