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Neuhaus, Counter-Revolutionary Leader?
In his voluminous but remarkably consistent writings, Neuhaus has sought nothing less than to reverse the fortunes of traditionalist religion in modern America--to teach conservative Christians how to place liberal modernity, once and for all, on the defensive. Any attempt to come to terms with the religious challenge to secular politics in contemporary America must confront Neuhaus's enormously ambitious and increasingly influential enterprise. ~Damon Linker, The New Republic (registration required)
I haven't had a chance to look through the entire article, but this claim alone is worth quite a lot more comment. If I have time later today, I'll add more.
Daniel Larison | March 25, 2006
Comments
Rod provided the link to this article, which piqued my interest.
Interestingly, I hadn't the time to actually delve into this rather involved (long winded) book review.
I do zero in on the last paragraph,which I took as a summary of the author's main points, and that really was enough for me.
The last paragraph alone lends itself to a host of comments that would largely contravene Mr. Linker's chicken-little reincarnation of Neuhaus as a rightist, theocrat pariah.
The tenor of the last paragraph, and by extension the article as a whole, seemed a bit suspicious to me. Without much familiarity with Mr. Linker (or his tenure at FT) and very little interested in Neuhaus's journal, I am curious if this former editor left on good terms.
Was Linker separation from FT simply a serious disagreement on philo-religious grounds? Or, is there something more personal underneath the surface, which may bespeak a somewhat sudden conversion - antithetical to the one experienced by Saul on the road to Damascus?
Given what Linker attributes to Neuhaus, I have to deduce that something personal triggered such myopia. As I perused the rest of the article, I could not believe this fellow was describing Neuhaus -- the Neuhaus I'm familiar with any way.
I quickly surmised that the review disclosed more about its author than its actually subject. I wondered how we -- Linker and this commentator -- view Neuhaus so differently: I venture it has to be more personal than philosophical or religious.
Regards, Michael
MJK | 03/25/06 11:06
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