Written shortly after the end of World War II, The End of the Modern World is a bracing, sometimes bleak jeremiad against the dehumanizing dangers of what we now call postmodernism. Guardini is not a pessimist, but he is vitally concerned about the potential loss of human dignity and individual responsibility in a world culture dominated by technological utilitarianism.

Occasionally Guardini is off target (e.g., about all future wars being world wars), but mostly he is penetrating and prophetic in his analysis of contemporary society. After a brief review of the major epochs in Western history, he focuses on power as the defining problem of our age, and proposes that virtues such as humility, self-control, and faith are more crucial than ever.

After more than 50 years, this thought-provoking book still serves as one of the best introductions to the fundamental ethical and theological issues of our times.

Guardini has written, in a small space, what amounts to one of the most incisive, blistering critiques of the modern world that I've ever read. Beautifully abstract yet precise, this masterwork will leave you nearly breathless with its forceful prose and unwavering criticism. After reading this book, one may wonder how one has remained asleep for all this time. Wake up, world, Guardini is calling you! A fierce read that's about the most painfully honest thing a human being can read these days. Save your propaganda, your agenda, and your polemics for another time. Guardini will work on your last nerve until you are driven to action. Again, WAKE UP, WORLD!

The End of The Modern World will change the way you look at the world. Since first reading it twenty years ago, the daily events of the world constantly bring me back to Guardini's prophetic words. Beyond changing you view, it may also change your life.

I am not a big fan of Neuhaus, with his magazine (First Things)'s defense of the Branch Davidians and conservative-reactionary tilt. In this book, though, I found little to disagree with and much to my liking. Neuhaus shows why religion should be integral to American life and does a good take on several key issues like abortion. Father Neuhaus avoids his usual political slant in this book, showing the intelligence and skill he is capable of when detatched (sp?) from his usual ideologue status. I would certainly recommend this book, no matter how much I may disagree with him on other matters.

Neuhaus has done a masterful job in collecting a wide-ranging variety of stories, essays, and poems on this sobering topic. Far from being depressing,however, it is inspiring and thought-provoking. Especially effective is the personal account of Neuhaus' own "near-death" experience, and his insightful comments preceding each piece.

This is the only one of H. V. Morton's books I've read, although I own one or two others. I suppose I must be slow on the uptake or too busy reading other things, not to have read further. This book was five stars all the way. I've still got the taste of the dust in my mouth.

Being something of a neophyte in matters pertaining to modern day Israel or ancient Palestine, or vice versa, I was thrilled to find myself in the hands of a gifted travel writer on this first armchair journey to the Holy Land. Morton knows how to, how shall I say it, maintain a religious sense in his work without allowing the reader to detect just how religious (or irreligious) he is. It's quite clever. Anyway, there is much biblical reference, almost always referring to the geography through which we pass, or the local architecture. For instance, his description of the Temple fascinated me. I must say it gave me a hankering to go to that part of the world, which is partly what a good travel book ought to do, methinks. Otherwise, I just enjoyed the writing. Very rhythmic, fluid text which is easy to read and tends to sweep one along, almost inexorably. I really shall have to dig out my other Mortons (on the British Isles) and have a go at them. Great read if you can find it, which shouldn't be too hard: he was a very popular and widely published author in his day.

Father Neuhaus has titled his book "Death on a Friday Afternoon" because that is when Jesus died. But his meditations on the seven last "words" of Jesus (actually, the seven last utterances) provide an understanding and explanation that will lead thoughtful readers into the meaning of the resurrection as well. Neuhaus, however, does not want readers to get to the resurrection without pondering carefully what is meant by the seven words on the cross, a compilation from the Gospel accounts.
I found Neuhaus'es book refreshing, in that it helped me to contemplate in a careful manner the circumstances in which Jesus uttered his words and the reason that he gave them.
Along the way Neuhaus introduces aspects of Catholic theology that are a part of his faith and world-view, but a Protestant reading the book (like myself) may find somewhat beside the point. Far more illuminating are the asides to social issues that are relevant to what Jesus said and taught.
In summary, a profoundly insightful book, caputuring the mystery of God in human form, dying painfully but purposefully on the cross for the sins of humankind.

The Seven Last Words are not seven "words" but seven "utterances" and they are these:
"Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."
"Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise."
"Woman, behold your son. Son, behold your mother."
"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
"I thirst."
"It is finished."
"Father, into your hands I commend my spirit."

These are the seven biblically recorded utterances of Christ on the cross, and Neuhaus has written, in my opinion, the superlative meditation of the significance of these final words of Jesus. Each chapter expounds upon one of these "words". The writing is so clear-headed... it will appeal to those who need to approach the ineffable mystery with at least one foot on the ground. Or even two! It is not spiritual platitude, it is gut-level and sobering. Have you ever wondered what happened when Jesus died on the cross? Or WHY it happened? Or IF it happened? This book speaks to those questions, with a rational approach that can only be likened to the writings of C.S. Lewis.
I was transfixed, and overwhelmed (in a good way) with the wealth of information in Neuhaus's book. Beautifully written.
He says in the preface, "If what Christians say about Good Friday is true, then it is, quite simply, the truth about everything. I have written this for people who are convinced of that truth, for people who are open to thinking about whether it may be true and for people who are just curious about why so much of the world thinks Good Friday is the key to understanding what Dante called 'the love that moves the sun and all the other stars.'"
The Convinced. The Cautious. The Curious. If you are any of these three types, this book will not disappoint you.
"We must not turn away from what we have done to God, lest we be found to have turned away from what He has done for us." (p.257).

I read this book during Holy Week and Fr. Neuhaus' insights really deepened my experiences leading up to Good Friday. This book lays out many different facets of Jesus' teaching and meaning in a very accessible way.

I highly recommend it.

There We Stood... contains some very touching stories of Lutherans who found depth and meaning by leaving the Lutheran Church and becoming Roman Catholic. I purchased and read this book because I too have considered leaving the ELCA in favor of Rome. However, the book, while being very well written and edited, convinced me that the ELCA is the right place for me. ...

While it was great to read these stories of renewed faith and hope, I was saddened that the book was not more substantive in dealing with the ongoing dialogue between the Church of Rome and the Lutheran Church. The fact of the matter is that we are not as far apart from one another as many people think. Instead of encouraging "conversion" from one to the other, why not value our distinctions while praying the prayer of Jesus that "[We] all be one"?

In conclusion, I would encourage Lutheran pastors and seminarians (such as myself) to read this book. It does help flesh out some of the questions and concerns our Lutheran parishioners may have, and can assist us in addressing those questions.

...nor even a Catholic. Anybody with an interest in the Catholic faith and why people from Protestant denominations 'cross the Tiber' will find this title on par with other great apologetics books in print.

There We Stood chronicles eleven former Lutherans -- including a few female pastors -- on their spiritual journeys and how issues such as the Lutheran church's stance on abortion and how Martin Luther's original teachings differ from that of the church today affected their decisions to convert.

I enjoyed reading especially the stories of the female pastors, all of whom were fully aware that their ordinations would not transfer over to the Catholic faith as they might for a male pastor, even a married one. To read how they decided Christ in His Church was more important was truly inspiring, and they prove that women do have an important place in the Church, serving through various other ministries.

All in all There We Stood is a well-written collection of essays and a wonderful testimony for the Catholic faith. It's been said the Church's greatest promoters are converts, and this book proves that theory.

Tim Drake presents us with the conversion testimony of eleven former Lutherans who found their way home to Rome. I found the stories extremely interesting, having made the same move myself in 1989. Since most of the conversion stories published in recent years seem to be by former Evangelicals and Calvinists, it was very meaningful to hear others coming from Lutheranism, which has a theology distinct from those groups. I was especially impressed with the former female pastors who had to give up their ministries to enter the Church. Talk about commitment to finding the truth at any cost! The orthodoxy of the writers is generally very high. There were one or two places where I partially disagreed with certain assertions made, generally concerning (can you guess?) faith vs. works. Stylistically, the individual stories were pretty well written; they kept my attention and were related in language understandable to non-clergy. I highly recommend this book to Lutherans considering conversion, to Catholics who have converted from Lutheranism, and to anyone interested in apologetics and conversion stories.

Fr. Neuhaus has written a book that is scandalously at odds with the teaching of Pope John Paul II, as most recently given in his apostolic exhortation, Ecclesia in America, presented at the close of the Synod for the Americas that Fr. Neuhaus is writing about here. If you are looking for an orthodox, faithful to the magisterium, review of the Synod, this ain't it. Instead, what you will find is warmed over Protestant Calvinism and political partisanship, where the poor are poor because they are bad people.

It is little wonder that orthodox Catholic thinkers everywhere, including the Holy Father, hold Fr. Neuhaus in such high esteem. Appointment in Rome is must reading for anyone interested in getting a clear-eyed but affectionate look at the key figures in the American Catholic Church hierarchy. A true joy after the stale rehash of 60's liberalism that taints so much of U.S. Catholic journalism. Neuhaus' snapshot of Fr. Thomas Reese S. J. is worth the price of the book!

The Pope named Fr. Neuhaus as his personal designee to the Synod, and a splendid choice it was. Neuhaus is one of the best chroniclers of events in the whole field of religion--and some other fields, too. Full of engaging detail and profound reflections, this memoir conveys the day-to-day argument but also the background to make it intelligible, and is infused with a love for the Gospels and Catholic social thought. Its realistic and probing questions give evidence of a powerful desire actually to help the poor to move out of poverty. Neuhaus punctures the simplicities of those who have failed to follow the successive cutting edges of this particular great Pope's thought. For some reason, I note in two or three reviews, it has infuriated the more doctrinaire leftists--probably because it reports their opinions as reflected at the Synod, and dares to question what facts they are based on, and then lets out their hot air slowly and wittily. Richly entertaining as a memoir, and good to read in a prayerful, reflective frame of mind as one tries to think with the Church--this lumbering, concrete, often crashingly human Church at the Synod. Neuhaus describes the daily boredom of listening to speech after speech (as happened many days at Vatican II, too, I remember) but also those moments in which every so often the event was lit up by great flashes of illumination. The deft pen portraits of famous personalities are sometimes wickedly funny, and always candid. The book glows with affection for the Church in all its messy, angular variety. If you love reading about great events and vast panoramas of people--and about Rome--you will delight in this book. It took me some months to get to it, but the great pleasure it gave will stay with me.

Unfortunately, the book falls short of it's intended goal in a huge way. Mr. Colson, although meaning well, falls into the unfortunate error of unity at all costs. Christ himself and all of the leaders of the early church were sure of the fact that our only Salvation is in Christ alone, by Faith alone. This is revealed in the Word of God, the Bible. "E&CT:TaCM" misses this entirely. This is not an attack on any person, nor on any Catholic who doesn't accept the teaching of the Scripture as his/her sole authority, which it claims to be. Any Bible-believing evangelical who has passed from death to life by being born of the spirit through faith, (a free gift, unable to be improved upon or earned, unlike the requirement for sacraments or penance...) loves all people and wishes for all to come to the saving knowledge of the truth found in Christ alone. We love all other evangelicals, we love all Catholics, we love Chuck Colson and the other contributors to this book. The book attempts to unite all under a common mission. The problem is that our mission was laid out in the Bible; to make disciples of all nations, which begins with our salvation. The issue is one of disobedience to God's Word as it was God-breathed through it's writers. (2Tim 3:16, 1Peter 1:20-21,...) Any involved must repent, pray for those who don't take God at His Word, and preach the one and only gospel of Salvation which has the power to save those who will place their trust in Christ alone! God's Word will never pass away, it will always stand. Our man-made "unity" not based on His Word will always fail! I understand this may never get printed b/c it disagrees with the author and therefore may not help sell this book. But there is much more at stake, please study the warning of Galatians 1: 6-9. Any other gospel is condemned by the Apostle Paul, the teachings of whom originated the Catholic church and the Reformation required when the Catholic church strayed from the Word of God. Today we see the beginnings of the same problem. God is no fool, He will judge all of us, based on His Word. I Praise Him that although I don't deserve anything but His anger, hell and death, He has saved me by the death & resurrection of His Son alone who is worthy to be worshipped forevermore. Unfortunately, this is not the message of the book: "Evangelicals & Catholics Together: Toward a Common Mission" If you buy it and read it, remember to do so in light of God's Word, referencing the above scriptures and all the rest that clearly distinguish the message of this book from the message of the Bible. God Bless You in your studies!

Being an Anglican, I am the first to admit that the Catholic church has doctrines I don't agree with. However, so does every denomination. I don't even agree completely on every Anglican Doctrine!

The reason I started out with that paragraph, is that this is the attitude the contributors to this book take. The Protestant contributors (Mark Noll, J.I. Packer, Charles Colson) do not wish to become Catholic. Nor do the Catholic contributors (Avery Dulles, George Wiegel) wish to become Protestant. What they do wish to do is come together in unity, especially in para-church organizations.

So the basic message of this book is, that while firmly recognizing the points on which protestants and Catholics disagree, as worshippers of the Triune God we need to be unified in today's post-Christian society, and to have meaningful discussions about our beliefs. I really enjoyed this book because of the conrtibutors' willingness to strive for peace and unity, while still holding to doctrinal truth.

Of note, the complete "Evangelicals and Catholics Together" statement is included, as well as the list of people who signed the statement (which includes famous men such as Pat Roberston, R.C. Sproul, Thomas Oden, and Bill Bright)

For centuries, one of the Christian Church's (By that I mean all Christians)greatest failings is to bicker as to what seperates us. Such bickerings have sadly included warfare and hatred spanning for generations. In this book several leading Church figures including Charles Colson, Richard John Neuhaus and J.I.Packer, put forward what unites all Christians and why, especially in an age of pluralism and postmodernism assailing the Church, there needs to be a united church. What is also excellent about this book is that there is also no gloss over what seperates Christians, but that one could say that this could be seen as an asset, not a failing. A must read for all Christians, and one with which I strongly urge readers to look at with a prayerful and open mind

This book compares the political theorist/theologian Yves Simon with 'neoconservative' Catholics Michael Novak, Richard John Neuhaus and George Weigel. The author uses outdated political theory terminology, referring to Adam Smith's theories as liberal for instance, so is hard to follow when relying on such labels (as he often does). He also dwells, like all political theorists, on obscure notions and not on practical realities. He does offer good backgrounds on some of the issues, including a scathing criticism of Smith's lack of moral thought, the neoconservatives' unquestioning of the capitalist system and American conservatives' rejections of papal statements on an ideological basis. Mostly, though, this is for political scientists only.

Neoconservative economics is a supposedly Christianized Smithian free market economics where free actors do good things by following market forces alone. This is good if the market force is with you, but for everyone else - well, neoconservatives do not think there is anyone else, at least anyone else who deserves consideration. The Neoconservative position is held by its proponents as a development of Thomism, the most robust philosophical system available to Christian thought. Thomas Rourke has tested this claim by contrasting the position to that of Yves Simon, a prominent twentieth century Thomist who spent a major part of his life in North America. Rourke's choice is highly appropriate because he avoids the trap of comparing classical Thomism, couched as it was in an entirely different economic world, to the realities of a mature free market economy. Simon was very much a part of America. In doing so Rourke has set up a conceptual debate that effectively explores many of the issues that are central to the understanding of the philosophical/moral/political relationships between economic action and society. This book is more about society and its functioning, than about economics. It is about the conditions necessary for the perfecting of the human person with respect to the treatment of material goods. This is an aim more familiar to the moral philosopher or the theologian. For this reason it may at times be remote from the frames of reference familiar to the modern economist. Economics has drawn distant from these issues during the early part of the twentieth century, and this debate constitutes a reversal. Unfortunately, few economists now understand the categories necessary to locate economic action within the context of a truely human society. It remains as a central need. The neoconservative enterprise has provided such an undstanding and Rourke explores the relationship between this understnding and that of the more orthodox Thomistic position. In doing so he revives interest in the perennial issues of human society and raises important questions that neoconservative must address and The book is well ordered and the chapters constitute subtle analyses of specific topics. The format is regular and familiar to readers of St. Thomas. A topic is introduced, the neoconservative position is outlined, then Simon's position is put and the contrasts explored. The book will even serve as a useful quick reference for those simply wanting a well researched presentation of the neoconservative position. The book is careful not to stray beyond its scope and pass judgement on the positions presented, that is for the reader. To the neoconservative reader this may still prove very uncomfortable because it exposes many areas where the position is indefensible on its own terms of reference. The book is far more valuable than a mere presentation of opposing positions or a criticism of the opposition. It is necessary reading for anyone seriously interested in understanding the dimensions of a truely human economics.

Neuhaus is the ideological equivalent of a Pat Buckhanan, or a Jesse Helms.
It's unfortunate that such personages attain perpetually sponsored platforms to make comfortable careers perched on soapboxes pontificating arrogant, narrow, bigoted, disrespectful, negative commentary on those they choose to target--and are afforded with consistent respect and never personally challenged all the while.

Buyer beware: Neuhaus is not a benevolent, spiritual personage. He is calculated social mover aligned with various neo-conservative organizations. He leads a think tank which which serves as a ruthless pro-Vatican (and anti-anyone-else-who-should-happen-to-cross-my-path) propaganda machine. He routinely publishes rabidly hompohobic articles, and demonstrates little respect or toleration for religious or human diversity.

This isn't the work of a wise, gratious spiritual person, or a great intellectual: It's neo-conservative agenda pushing. Just be aware of this before buying...

First of all, I'm very skeptical about anyone being visited by super-natural beings. Indeed, I believe it is wise be skeptical about those kinds of reports. It is essential to test, and critique those accounts. However, with that said, I am also a person who has very much enjoyed the previous writing of Neuhaus - especially 'The Naked Public Square'. As a result, I wasn't sure how to take this book. Here are some thoughts.........

--Someone once said, 'death is an interesting statistic, it's one out of one'. We will all face death and as a result our awareness of death can be both existentially shocking as well as an intense motivator for pursuing ultimate reality and religious truth. Neuhaus does a great job of guiding the reader to this realization.

--Neuhaus writes a book, which is dramatically different from books like 'Embraced by the Light'. It is a book not about warm and subjective feelings, but it is about how we face the difficulty of dieing. How do people who believe very different things deal with death and react to dieing? Where can we find comfort? What is true about the after-life? These are complex questions requiring honest answers. Neuhaus is honest, but I wish he had been more specific regarding how he answers these questions.

--I do appreciate his non-sentimental writing and his willingness to write a book as personal as this one. There's no question this book ends up being inspirational, however, I'm still not sure on exactly what Neuhaus prescribes for the problem of the human condition. Is it religion, relationship, forgiveness, faith? Since he is a Catholic his religious convictions do come through, but if I had my way, I wish he was a bit more theological in his conclusions.

This little book is a superb meditation on the mysteries of death (and life) for a Christian. With characteristic clarity, Neuhaus offers a series of ruminations on his own near-death experience, from which he emerged with his faith fully intact.