Part of the reason Richard John Neuhaus will be remembered is for
his impact on Christians in higher education. There is no
question that his seminal book The Naked Public Square
and then his journal First Things changed the way many
of us think about religion and culture. He also did
something I think is nearly impossible with FT. He created
a serious journal that causes many people (a great many of them
professors) to do a little dance when they find it in their
mailbox.
First Things is not an academic journal, but it is close
and better. Instead of dividing knowledge up into a million
little pieces and then writing ad nauseum about those
subcompartments. First Things invites strong minds
to contribute big essays about the intersection of religion,
culture, law, politics, art, music, etc. The result is
readable and edifying. When I was younger, I knew it was
above my head, but I pursued it for improvement, just like a
gangster listening to a pronounciation soundtrack to improve his
speech. First Things took me places. Today,
when I meet a fellow reader, I meet a friend.
Enough of the unsolicited advertisement. I saw a snippet of
an email exchange about Neuhaus that is worth reproducing
here. I won't include the name in case the person wants
that to remain private:
Converted (to Catholicism) about 1990 or 91. He is one of
those Missouri Synod Lutherans who had a tremendous early
education in their prep schools and liberal arts college…then a
fine seminary education. It was the old German gymnasium
system where young guys went off to prep school at 14 and
learned German, Greek, Latin, church history, the confessions
even before they got to college. The college at Fort
Wayne gave them a terrific liberal arts education—classics,
literature, history, languages—and then off to seminary.
Pelikan, Wilken, Neuhaus, Marty, and many lesser lights came
through that system. Valparaiso’s golden age occurred
when these highly educated pastors also went into other fields
and got doctorates. They had dual educations that
made faith and learning engagement a natural thing.
M.Divs with a degree in law, economics, literature. Very
erudite types who occupied many positions at Valpo. But
that has all disappeared….a great but probably necessary
loss. How many families would send their boys off to prep
school at 14 and what church could afford to run prep schools
all over the country for their young men?
But Richard was one of that group….didn’t really need a
doctorate.
No, he didn't really need that doctorate. Wish we could
reproduce that system for young people from families without
tremendous means.
