Richard John
Neuhaus: A Life in the Public Square by Randy Boyagoda
With
an eye towards the most important details of Richard John Neuhaus’ life, author
Randy Boyagoda has penned an informative and wide-ranging book on one of modern
Catholicism’s most notable figures. With
a sense of highlighting the main features of Richard’s ministry, his long
career at First Things, and his engagement with the church at all levels, Randy
gives the reader a well-rounded portrait of Neuhaus.
Early
on, Randy points out the way Richard’s experiences in school left an indelible
mark on his life. Boyagoda recounts, “His
very first teacher declared him “uneducable” and his parents pulled him out of
school after this early, failed effort (34).”
Yet, his father Clem nurtured his son’s insatiable desire for learning
by putting him in front of his catechism class at the early age of ten years
old (33). Richard was a bit of prankster
at school yet remained enthralled with learning, albeit on his own path.
Concordia
Seminary had a lasting impact upon Neuhaus throughout his entire life. One item that Boyagoda mentions is the
influence of certain authors on his view of church/state relations. Boyagoda writes, “While at seminary he read
The State and the New Testament, a 1956 treatise by Lutheran Scripture scholar
Oscar Cullmann that advocated for the Gospel-driven necessity of Christian’s engaging with the secular state, which Neuhaus later
invoked as “the one book that launched me into serious concern about
church-state relationships (64).” I was amazed
here at how Cullman had such a drastic impact since Cullman’s major work was
directed toward Christology in the New Testament. Yet, it was the impetus for a burgeoning
philosophy of church-state relations that Neuhaus took from Cullman.
We
find an extraordinary amount of time during the Civil Rights era with Neuhaus
involved in every facet of the fight against racism and those who opposed
blacks. Boyagoda writes, “Indeed, rather
than mixing with elites, Neuhaus pursued only greater involvements with the
marginalized masses, as when he attended the August 1964 march on Washington
(82).” His commitment to racial equality
was initially fueled by his father’s long history of opposition to Nazism and
the training he received, but the application of these principles were
furthered by Neuhaus’ insistence that faith not remain in the shadows but in
the light of social and cultural changing norms.
Overall,
I really enjoyed this book and hope that you will find a multi-faceted view of
Richard John Neuhaus.
Thanks
to Blogging for Books and Image for the copy of this book in exchange for an
honest review.
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