The impassioned, sometimes holy, sometimes holier-than-thou world of Catholic political activists. Catholic moral theology has in recent years evolved a quasi- revolutionary ethical stance known as the ``seamless garment.'' Based on the principle that all life is sacred, this ethic is uncompromisingly anti-war, anti-capital punishment, and anti- abortion—a viewpoint that puts its adherents into frequent conflict with federal laws. Thus these portraits of men and women who, with few exceptions, have spent much time in prison in pursuit of religious ideals. Former Jesuit seminarian Gallagher, a free- lance journalist and translator of Japanese novels, has done considerable legwork and assembled a striking gallery of protestors. Some, like old-time pacifist Gordon Zahn, seem granite monuments of moral integrity; others, like anti-abortion activist Joan Andrews, have the intensity of Joan of Arc. The brothers Berrigan are familiar faces, joined here by lesser-known Pentagon- baiters like Marcia Timmel and Paul Magnus. ``Rebel priest'' Bob Begin applauds John Paul II's call for a postcapitalist, postsocialist economic system; others heap contempt on the Vatican hierarchy. Archbishops, nuns, stockbrokers, homemakers add to the mix, which is memorable for its moral rectitude. At times, though, righteousness becomes self-righteousness, not least in Gallagher's sarcastic, sometimes ad hominem attacks on the media and on Catholic thinkers with whom he disagrees. A thumbtack on the chair seat for moral equivocators, whatever their faith.
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1992
ISBN: 0-89919-982-8
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1992
BOOK REVIEW
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
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