The State of First Things November 2009

This is the first in a continuing series evaluating First Things (First Things, the magazine, as Hadley Arkes calls it). I am trying to figure out whether the magazine is still worth reading cover-to-cover. Articles will be classified as 1) well worth reading; 2) flawed, but still worth the time; or 3) not worth the bother. Only the first two categories will be discussed.

Well worth reading
1. Do Whatever He Tells You, Evangelicals and Catholics Together
The latest in the series written by this group. The general series has been outstanding, looking for common ground between these two groups. The ultimate pay-off would be an end to the Reformation divide. But, the group has been very careful to avoid the usual ecumenical trap of pretending that there are not real, substantive differences. This article looks at Mary. It is not a hopeful as other issues. There is quite a bit of common ground in evaluating the importance of Mary and her role as a disciple, but the differences are substantial and it is not clear how they can be bridged. There are four areas of substantial disagreement: 1) Perpetual virginity, 2) Immaculate Conception, 3) Bodily Assumption, and 4) Invocation of Mary. The Roman Catholic Church has a firm position on all four of those, and there are Papal Decrees declaring official church doctrine on them. Now I (an evangelical) have no problem if someone believes in the perpetual virginity or bodily assumption of Mary--I have no reason to think either doctrine is true, but I don’t see anything in Scripture that would forbid belief in either one. The Invocation of Mary also doesn’t bother me--if you assume the saints have knowledge of earthly happenings after their death, then asking Mary to pray for you seems little different than asking your friend to pray for you. Again, I am not at all sure why we would assume that Mary can hear a thing we say, but if someone really believes she can, I have no real problem. The Immaculate Conception is a bit more troubling, but I think I could be persuaded it is not a dangerous doctrine. However, and here is the problem, I have a hard time imagining being a full participant in a church which mandated the Roman Catholic view on such things. In other words, I think the real differences between Evangelicals and Roman Catholics on Mary is a difference of opinion about the Authority of the Pope to pronounce on Doctrinal matters.

The authors mention that papal authority is on their future agenda, and I do hope it is soon. John Paul II, in one of his encyclicals, mentioned that the role of the Pope would need to be discussed in order to further the ecumenical project; I would be quite glad if such a rethinking were to commence. Evangelicals and Catholics together strikes me as the perfect group to begin that discussion.


Flawed, but worth reading
1. Gambling with Lives, Maura J. Casey
This is an argument against legalized gambling. While I agree with the conclusion (legalized gambling brings more harm than good), the article is a mixed bag--parts of it are well argued, parts are sloppy. I wish the article had been stronger so that it would have been useful as a highly recommended case against legalized gambling. With legalized gambling seeming to be on the slippery slope to becoming reality in Massachusetts, a solid case against it would have been nice. I do not look forward to the day when there is a large casino in Holyoke.

2. Review of Simon Schama's The American Future, James Nuechterlein
A useful review because now I know that there is no reason to even look at Schama's book.


Jody Bottum's brief notes at the end of the magazine are nice too, but they suffer from the fact that it is hard not to compare them to Neuhaus' back-of-the-issue comments, and nobody was better than Neuhaus at that.

There is also a new poem by A.M. Juster--I love Juster's poetry. If you are looking for an excellent book of modern verse to give to someone as a gift, Juster's The Secret Language of Women is a good bet. Much of it is in the tradition of light verse, but in addition to making me smile, it makes me think.