American Babylon: Notes of a Christian Exile

by Richard John Neuhaus

Overview

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 life -- assessing 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 opus -- and will be essential reading for all Christians.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780786744374
Publisher:	Basic Books
Publication date:	03/17/2009
Sold by:	Hachette Digital, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Pages:	288
File size:	273 KB
Age Range:	13 - 18 Years

About the Author

Richard John Neuhaus, one of the foremost authorities on religion in the contemporary world and president of the Institute on Religion and Public Life, is the editor-in-chief of First Things. He was named one of the "25 Most Influential Evangelicals in America" by Time Magazine. His many books include Freedom for Ministry, Death on a Friday Afternoon, and As I Lay Dying. He is a priest of the Archdiocese of New York and lives in Manhattan.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

New York Times Book Review
“American Babylon displays Neuhaus in all his virtues – elegantly argued and written, fair-minded and with a formidable range of reference – making the important point that politics without an anchor in a public morality can quickly slip away in dark directions.”

National Review
“In word and deed alike, Neuhaus provided as much ‘spiritual energy for existing goals of change’ as any figure of his era. But it’s a testament to his own capaciousness that we will be able to turn to him for guidance and inspiration even in eras vastly different from his own.”

The Weekly Standard
“A final, uniquely Christian reflection on making one’s way in America…. American Babylon remains an important book at a critical moment in history.”

The American Spectator
“[A] short, dense meditation on what it means to live ‘our awkward duality of citizenship,’ as both Christians and Americans, with integrity…. American Babylon can be read as a kind of valedictory or summation of many of the intellectual arguments that have preoccupied Father Neuhaus in his previous writings.”

 

Touchstone: A Journal of Mere Christianity“This book, written with all the characteristic wit and insight of Neuhaus at his best, is an extended reflection on, and examination of, what it means to be a Christian in America…. We who miss [Neuhaus] can find him again, with all his engaging wit, erudition, and commitment to justice and Christian truth, in the pages of this, his final book.”

 

Editorial Reviews

Until his death in January 2009, Father Richard John Neuhaus was generally regarded as one of America's preeminent churchmen. Time magazine called him one of the 25 most influential evangelicals, a designation bolstered by his frequent consultations with President George W. Bush and other policymakers. A Lutheran who converted to Catholicism and joined the priesthood, Neuhaus presented a consistently critical yet optimistic view of the role of "Christian exiles" in a Babylon of decadence, consumerism, and impiety. In this final book, he reflects on the dilemmas and possibilities that Christians face in this new century.

American Babylon displays Neuhaus in all his virtues—elegantly argued and written, fair-minded and with a formidable range of reference—making the important point that politics without an anchor in a public morality can quickly slip away in dark directions.
—The New York Times

Charles R. Morris

Neuhaus, who died in early 2009, moved along the theological continuum during his life from liberal Protestant to conservative Catholic. Along the way, the Catholic priest who was editor-in-chief of the journal First Things never shied from controversy and continually offered provocative theological insights on the nature of American religion and politics. In some ways, his last book picks up where his early book, The Naked Public Square: Religion and Democracy in America, left off. In this sometimes repetitious but always challenging look at American Christianity, Neuhaus argues that Christians live in exile in a foreign land, for they always live with the hope of returning to the Kingdom of God. Neuhaus maps out the territory in which Christians find themselves, shaped by the liberal irony-and its shortcomings-of the late philosopher Richard Rorty as well as by the many shallow spiritualities of the self proffered by New Age religions. The final pages of this book poignantly afford a glimpse of Neuhaus's own embrace of hope as he made his final journey toward the New Jerusalem. (Mar.)

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Publishers Weekly

In this posthumous volume, Neuhaus (Death on a Friday Afternoon: Meditations on the Last Words of Jesus on the Cross) offers some well-wrought reflections on what it means to be an American who is aware that he or she is "in exile," on pilgrimage to a heavenly homeland. We are all, he argues, in between. We must care for our place of exile and care for one another but not settle down. He makes an eloquent case for the role of religion in this care for the community and considers the issue of bioethics, the role of Jews in salvation history, whether atheists can be moral, and the need for hope. Behind all of his thought is the emphasis on the dignity of the human being. While recognizing that religiously dominated politics can sometimes lead to fanaticism, Neuhaus argues that politics must be grounded in religion. Joan Chittister's books (e.g., In Search of Belief) offer similar reflections from a liberal stance. Recommended for larger religion collections.
—Augustine J. Curley

Library Journal

The recently deceased neoconservative intellectual offers a philosophical blueprint for his Catholicism and his stranger-in-a-strange-land relationship with America. Catholic priest and George W. Bush confidante Neuhaus (Catholic Matters: Confusion, Controversy and the Splendor of Truth, 2006, etc.) says that American Christians are exiles in this imperfect life and country as they await the End Time and the promised City of God. He explains how he reconciles this world with his religious aspirations, disputing the outlook of liberal Christians and secularists along the way. Those familiar with his work might expect some culture-war bomb-throwing, and Neuhaus lobs a few at abortion rights and stem-cell research, but the book is primarily a theological summation. Indeed, the author's lengthy musings may seem pedantic to those without a strong interest in philosophy. One chapter takes more than 30 pages to answer the question, "Can an Atheist Be a Good Citizen?" Neuhaus, who founded and edited the ecumenical journal First Things, is generous in granting the objections to his case, and readers who don't share his premises might nonetheless be persuaded by his arguments. On the atheist question, for example, he admits that Christians have committed crimes as grievous as those of nonbelievers. He insists nonetheless that atheists can't be good citizens, because citizenship requires "a morally compelling" defense of democracy that "draw[s] authority from that which is higher than ourselves." He doesn't mention Alan Dershowitz's secular defense, which notes that undemocratic, rights-denying societies inevitably disintegrate-and that our God-fearing founders, who tolerated certain injustices,weren't always compelling exemplars of democracy. Neuhaus argues, correctly, that America is "an incorrigibly and pervasively religious society." It is also pervasively uninterested in worrying about things like the worthiness of atheists to be citizens, which may have contributed to the author's sense of alienation. A manifesto for Christians who share Neuhaus' theology, and for opponents with an academic bent who enjoy an intellectual dust-up. Author tour to New York, Washington, D.C., Boston. Agent: Loretta Barrett/Barrett Books

Kirkus Reviews

New York Times Book Review
“American Babylon displays Neuhaus in all his virtues – elegantly argued and written, fair-minded and with a formidable range of reference – making the important point that politics without an anchor in a public morality can quickly slip away in dark directions.”

National Review
“In word and deed alike, Neuhaus provided as much ‘spiritual energy for existing goals of change' as any figure of his era. But it's a testament to his own capaciousness that we will be able to turn to him for guidance and inspiration even in eras vastly different from his own.”

The Weekly Standard
“A final, uniquely Christian reflection on making one's way in America.... American Babylon remains an important book at a critical moment in history.”

The American Spectator
“[A] short, dense meditation on what it means to live ‘our awkward duality of citizenship,' as both Christians and Americans, with integrity.... American Babylon can be read as a kind of valedictory or summation of many of the intellectual arguments that have preoccupied Father Neuhaus in his previous writings.”

From the Publisher