From the October issue: Christian apologetics can get heated, especially online. Readers of all Christian persuasions would do well to read Calvinist pastor Kevin DeYoung’s amiable review of Peter Kreeft’s autobiography From Calvinist to Catholic. Both Kreeft in his book and DeYoung in his review take refreshingly respectful stances toward opposing faith traditions while firmly defending their own. 

For further reading: Peter Kreeft has only written once for First Things, in the November 1996 issue of the magazine. “The Politics of Architecture” is an essay about worldviews, surprising allies and, of course, buildings.

Many of those disenchanted with modernity have found solace in the philosophy of Charles Taylor. But Adam Eilath’s debut piece in these pages critiques Taylor by contrasting his assessment with those of Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik and Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI). Soloveitchik and Ratzinger more correctly diagnose the errors of a culture that dismisses truth and faith. “Taylor tells us we must live with many construals, none of them mere errors. Soloveitchik called that posture subjectivism; Ratzinger called it tyranny,” Eilath writes. 

For further reading: Rowan Williams, former archbishop of Canterbury, favorably reviewed Taylor’s book Cosmic Connections: Poetry in the Age of Disenchantment in last year’s November magazine. For more on Soloveitchik, read Matthew Rose’s “A Rabbi For Christians” from 2024, or Shalom Carmy’s “The Rev: The World of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik” from 2000. Rose also wrote about Charles Taylor and Catholicism in “Tayloring Christianity” in 2014.

In the news: Today is the anniversay of Hamas’ attack on Israel, igniting the last two years of war. Tania Hammer wrote from Jerusalem about that day and its aftermath: “We are at war, but these past few days of witnessing the love and gratitude of all who volunteered fill me with a bit of peace.”

Upcoming Events

• November 2, 2025: A Night of Poetry with Ben Myers | New York, NY. Register here.
• November 3, 2025: The 38th Annual Erasmus Lecture: In Praise of Translation | New York, NY. Register here.
• November 11, 2025: Lecture at the University of Dallas | Irving, TX. Details coming soon.
• January 9, 2026: Second Annual Neuhaus Lecture at the New College of Florida | Sarasota, FL. Details coming soon.

Until next time.

VIRGINIA AABRAM