By Gail Reid Special to The InterimEvery Christian should see Mel Gibson's movie, The Passion of The Christ. Not because it's the most authentic portrayal of Jesus Christ's last 12 hours, but because it synthesizes into two intense hours God's plan to save the world at cosmic cost. Passion plays have been popular for centuries, but this movie brings us up close [...]
"…A powerful witness to the truth of traditional Christianity, precisely that force that liberal elites have been trying to still for decades. It's Christianity-and especially orthodox Catholicism and evangelicalism-that denies them their total victory in the culture wars. Proponents of abortion, gay marriage, radical feminism, multiculturalism and postmodernism all harbor a deep fear of the truth claims of Christianity." Crisis editor Deal [...]
amanda bright@home by Danielle Crittenden (Warner Books, $34.95, 322 pages) Reviewed by Christina Tuns The Interim As I began reading Danielle Crittenden's latest book amanda bright@home, I was concerned when the acknowledgments said that the title character had originally come to life in the National Post and Wall Street Journal online. I was concerned that not having read any of Crittenden's serializations [...]
'Merciful Release': The History of the British Euthanasia Movement by N.D.A. Kemp (Manchester University Press, $74.95 (US), 288 pages). Review by Ian R. Dowbiggin The Interim It seems that hardly a day goes by without euthanasia making front-page news. Taken from the Greek word for "good death," euthanasia is one of the most contentious, hot-button issues today. Belgium, Switzerland and the Netherlands [...]
Richard John Neuhaus Special to The InterimThe defenders of judicial activism, properly understood as the judicial usurpation of politics, count on wearing down their critics over time. Robert H. Bork is not easily worn down. He returns to the battle with a new book, Coercing Virtue: The Worldwide Rule of Judges (AEI, 159 pp., $25). Not only in America, but throughout the [...]
Everyday Graces: A Child's Book of Good Manners, edited, with Commentary by Karen Santorum (ISI Books, US$25, 407 pages) True politeness, says Karen Santorum, "is the mirror of a person's heart and soul - it is an outward expression of inner virtue." How can such an important virtue so often be taken for granted? We know that children learn best by example [...]
Judicial Activism: A Threat to Democracy and Religion. Edited by Fr. Alphonse de Valk (Life Ethics Information Centre, $19.95 165 pages) Reviewed by Paul Tuns The Interim It has become increasingly apparent in recent years, and impossible to ignore in recent months, that Canada is not a democracy. We are ruled by nine robed dictators on the Supreme Court and numerous miniature [...]
Judicial Activism: A Threat to Democracy and Religion. Edited by Fr. Alphonse de Valk (Life Ethics Information Centre, $19.95 165 pages) Reviewed by Paul Tuns The Interim It has become increasingly apparent in recent years, and impossible to ignore in recent months, that Canada is not a democracy. We are ruled by nine robed dictators on the Supreme Court and numerous miniature [...]
Virtue's Alphabet From Amiability to Zeal By Donald DeMarco (Central Bureau, Central Verein of America, $10, 112 pages) Donald DeMarco is a very prolific writer. In addition to all the columns and articles he writes for newspapers and journals, he has written 20 books. There are 26 letters in the alphabet, and so this book contains 26 sections - though DeMarco cannot [...]
The English premiere of Denys Arcand's The Barbarian Invasions was released Sept. 4 at the Toronto Film Festival. It won two prizes last May at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival, including for the best script. This new film is a sequel to The Decline of the American Empire, produced in 1986, that was an Oscar nominee for best foreign movie. Whereas The [...]
Sue Careless is a pro-life journalist familiar to Interim readers. She is also the author of an inspiring ecumenical resource, Discovering the Book of Common Prayer: A Hands-On Approach. Volume 1: Daily Prayer. She has written this book at the behest of the Prayer Book Society of Canada to promote a renewed and deeper appreciation for the Book of Common Prayer as [...]
The Christians: Their First Two Thousand Years, Volume 1: The Veil Is Torn Edited by Ted Byfield (Christian History Project Inc, 288 pgs $49.95) Review by David Bolton The Interim A recent book by Philip Jenkins, professor of history and religious studies at Penn State University, warned us that Christendom in the post-modern Western world is destined for, if not extinction, at [...]
Life, Liberty and the Defense of Dignity: The Challenge for Bioethics By Leon R. Kass M.D. (Encounter Books, 313 pgs $39.50) Two hundred years ago, the poet William Wordsworth assessed the human condition, asking: "Have I not reason to lament/ What man has made of man?" At the dawn of the third millennium, technology has the human condition itself within its power; [...]
The worst thing that can happen to teens in seeing a movie is that they are subjected to the wrong morals. Often times, this is exactly the case as teens are confused by the conflicting messages given by a particular film and their faith. In the teen movie How to Deal, Halley Martin is a confused teen who has decided to give [...]
A Christian musician's recent CD aimed at ministering to those dealing with post-abortion effects has been somewhat influenced and inspired by the experiences of someone very close to him. Michael John Poirier has released Healing After the Choice on the World Library Publications label. The recording seeks to establish a musical environment of healing and consolation for an estimated 80 million U.S [...]