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teaghang's review
4.0
I didn't know much about Fr. Richard John Neuhaus other than that he founded First Things magazine, a periodical I greatly enjoy, that he was a former liberal-leftist turned Neo-con, and a former Lutheran turned Catholic. Randy Boyagoda's biography gives a great deal of insight and nuance in how these three events (perhaps the most significant of his public life) came about, and how he showed a great deal of consistency in temperament and principle throughout the process.That was the one great thing I learned about Fr. Neuhaus through reading this book: he really did not change very much. He always believed in the compatibility of Christianity and the American way of life, he always believed America could only thrive with a public square open to and informed by religion, particularly Christianity, and he always believed in the truth of Jesus Christ and his establishment of the Church on Earth. This all creates a more nuanced picture than I would've expected before reading, and makes me wonder how this staunch supporter of the Civil Rights Movement and pastor to urban African-Americans would react to the current conflicts over race, identity, and order. Randy Boyagoda should deserve tremendous credit for keeping a steady hand on the book, giving a positive view of the man whose magazine he is frequently contributes, but allows enough of Neuhaus's flaws come through (primarily from quotes made by Neuhaus himself) that the book never depends into hagiography. And yet, the book always seems so narrowly focused on the three themes I mentioned above that other things seem to get a short shift and a bit more depth would've been nice. In particular, a more detailed explanation of how Neuhaus went from being a Vietnam War protestor to a Iraq War cheerleader would've been helpful. All the same, the biography is worth reading for those interested in 20th Century Christian America or the Religious Right.
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