Free Republic

A new book is out which may interest some Freepers: The Patristic Understanding of Creation, An Anthology of Writings from the Church Fathers on Creation and Designby Dembski, Downs, and Frederick. From Erasmus Press: The Patristic Understanding of Creation encapsulates what the Church Fathers had to say, in their own words, on the topic of creation. Going back to Roman and Byzantine times, the writings of the Church Fathers are basic to Christian theology and provide a benchmark for how Christians have traditionally understood creation. This understanding of creation, however, faces tremendous challenges in our day, especially in discussions at...

The Battle for Belmont Abbey College and the Soul of Catholic Higher Education has been engaged.Let us support them in their battle and pray for the continued success of their vital mission.

Friends and all people with kind hearts. My mother Snežana is undergoing tomorrow morning an Dudenum surgery. Four days ago her ulcer perforated and she was hospitalised monday morning. So far, she is allright, not any pains, feeling good. But, being diabetician and fairly weak, it is not such simple surgery as it would be for the rest of us. So, please, pray for my mother Snežana to get trough surgery well and to, in God willing recover fast. My father, my sister and I pray for her evry day. If you would like to know, her name, Snežana means...

During the week of October 22-26, David Horowitz and his Freedom Center held a series of events at 100 campuses for Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week, intended to counter standard academic nitwitery about the war on terrorism ("America is evil," "We brought it on ourselves," "9/11 was a Republican conspiracy"). Admirable though this was, attention must be called to an even more imminent threat. By the authority vested in me (by myself), I hereby designate the week of November 5th Left-Fascism Awareness Week -- a time to consider the clear and present danger to free speech emanating from the left, from academic...

The history of Christianity has been replete with examples of various theological disagreements and contrary schools of thought, even within the pale of orthodoxy. Modern times have provided us no relieve from this syndrome, which speaks to the inherent imperfections of human discourse and understanding. There is one concept, more than any other, which can account for the great religious polarization within the Christian community, as well as the blue/red divide so evident in the political realm. As a teenage youth and a fresh convert to Christianity from a nominal belief in God, I never perceived distinctions such as "liberal...

Youtube link to the Orthodox Liturgy in Spanish from the Orthodox Church in Mexico . The music is chanted by the Choir of St. George's Cathedral in Mexico. Part OnePart Two

Russian Orthodox Church has called recent opening of a "church" for sexual minorities a farce and addressed to the gay community to repent and to take the road of correction. "The people who have broken off from Orthodoxy, have separated themselves from the Christ's Church, are disguising in Church's clothes and take the road of justifying the vice. Inspite of all lying their trick has nothing common with the Gospel and with the ethics of New Testament, because intentional resistance to an obvious truth is a sin of abuse on Holy Spirit", said the head of the Moscow Patriarchate's department...

Moscow, August 24, Interfax - 24 Orthodox priests and two monks have been murdered in Russia since 1990. According to the Moscow Patriarchate's website, the murder of Archpriest Alexander Men is the first of the list of those notorious crimes. Fr. Men was died at his home because of blood loss after he was hit with something heavy in the morning September 9, 1990 near the Semkhoz railways station. Tree monks of the Optina Pustyn monastery, Hieromonk Vasily Roslyakov, Monk Trofim Tatarnikov and Monk Ferapont Pushkaryov were murdered on the Easter Day, April 18, 1993. Their murderer Nikolay Averin said...

"Everywhere there rises before our eyes the specter of a society where security, if it is attained at all, will be attained at the expense of freedom, where the security that is attained will be the security of fed beasts in a stable, and where all the high aspirations of humanity will have been crushed by an all-powerful state." One of the most articulate defenders of orthodox Christian theology against the liberalizing and rationalizing trends of the early twentieth century was J. Gresham Machen. Influenced by his Reformed Protestant background, Machen was trained as a pastor at Princeton Seminary (once...

In a dramatic illustration of the unhappiness among conservative Episcopalians in the United States, an Episcopal priest from the North Shore has decided to become a bishop of the Anglican Church of Kenya. The Rev. William L. Murdoch, rector of All Saints Episcopal Church in West Newbury, will fly to Nairobi next month for his consecration as a Kenyan bishop, then return to Massachusetts to minister to other disaffected conservatives who are leaving the Episcopal Church over its 2003 decision to ordain an openly gay priest as the bishop of New Hampshire. Murdoch's congregation, which averages about 300 worshipers each...

ROME (Reuters) - A decree this month by Pope Benedict allowing wider use of the old Latin mass has spawned a veritable cottage industry in helping Roman Catholic priests learn how to celebrate the centuries-old rite. A Web site, helpline, DVDs and a training course at Oxford are among resources springing up for priests who want to celebrate the old-style mass but aren't sure which vestments to wear or where to get them, when to genuflect, how deep to bow, or how to clasp their hands in prayer. "There will be priests who will say: 'Oh my God, I want...

Moscow, July 11, Interfax - The Russian Orthodox Church has called "honest" the position of the Vatican published in a document of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith stating that the Catholic Church is the only Church approved by Christ. "It is an honest statement. It is much better than the so-called 'church diplomacy'." It shows how close or, on the contrary, how divided we are," Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, who heads the Moscow Patriarchate Department for External Church Relations, told journalists in Moscow. "For an honest theological dialogue to happen, one should have a clear...

The following draws from the book Is the Mormon My Brother by apologist James White. Earlier this year, Paul Kaiser reprinted a Worldview article titled 10 Mormonism Facts which generated a myriad of responses from visitors who stated that Mormons were being misrepresented and are simply our brothers & sisters in the Body of Christ. Let’s look at what Dr. White presents using LDS resources: The First VisionWithout question the key revelation in Mormon Scripture regarding the nature of God is to be found in what is known as the First Vision of Joseph Smith. The vision itself is fundamental...

27 June 2007, 15:10 Russian Exarchate in Western Europe aims at ‘freezing’ relations with the Moscow Patriarchate, the exarchate’s former secretary says Paris, June 27, Interfax - The leaders of the Archdiocese of Russian Orthodox Churches in Western Europe (Exarchate of the Ecumenical Patriarch) gets increasingly less committed to becoming closer to Moscow, the exarchate’s former secretary Basile de Tiesenhausen opines. ‘Today’s reality is freezing of relations (with the Moscow Patriarchate - IF) and escalating of modernization policy, obviously with Constantinople’s silent consent,’ de Tiesenhausen said in his interview to Russkaya Mysl (La Pensee Russe), a Russian-language periodical printed in...

Episcopal Panel 'Dodges' Response to Moratorium http://www.christianpost.com/article/20070615/27991_Episcopal_Panel_'Dodges'_Response_to_Moratorium.htm http://tinyurl.com/35qes6 By Lillian Kwon Christian Post Reporter Fri, Jun. 15 2007 07:13 AM ET An Episcopal panel of clergy and lay people indicated on Thursday they will not give a response to the moratorium Anglican leaders requested for by September, arguing that only the General Convention has the authority to respond. The next General Convention – The Episcopal Church's primary governing and legislative body – however, meets in the summer of 2009. After a four-day meeting that ended Thursday, the Executive Council said that no governing body other than General Convention can agree...

After US Stratfor analytical agency announced the analysis in which is stated that Milorad Dodik, Bosnian Serb entity of Republika Srpska Prime Minister, has turned his back to the West and will be dismissed because of it, Bosnia-Herzegovinian politicians reacted. ... HDZ 1990: Dodik is not an individual, RS is behind him Martin Raguz, HDZ 1990 (Croatian Democratic Union) vice-president, does not believe that western forces will dismiss Dodik, but will surely increase pressure on him -Dodik is not an individual – the RS government is behind him and all political parties in RS. This is why things are not...

George Weigel  Other Articles by George WeigelPrinter Friendly Version   Mount Athos Objects April 15, 2007 Last December's visit by Pope Benedict XVI to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople revived speculation that the millennium-long division between Rome and the Christian East might soon end. That was certainly the dream of Benedict's predecessor, the Servant of God John Paul II, who really did seem to believe that Rome and Constantinople could achieve ecclesial reconciliation by the end of the twentieth century, so that a millennium of division — the formal split having taken place in 1054 -- would be succeeded by...

Pope Benedict at 80: Blowing on the coals of faith By John ThavisCatholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- When Pope John Paul II turned 80 in 2000, it fueled yet another round of speculation about whether the ailing pontiff might break with tradition and resign. In contrast, Pope Benedict XVI's 80th birthday April 16 finds him with the wind in his sails. The pope's new book on Jesus was being released in several languages, an event that will no doubt launch the Christological themes of his pontificate into wider circulation. In March the pope published a major document on...

Two years into his reign, Pope Benedict XVI is finally poised to make a major mark on American Catholicism with a string of key bishop appointments and important decisions about the future of U.S. seminaries and bishops' involvement in politics. Benedict's election on April 19, 2005, shook liberals and comforted conservatives who expected a doctrinal hard-liner. So far, they have found an easier hand - and someone who has not made the United States much of a priority. When Benedict has gained attention, it has mostly been on the world stage, focusing on the re-Christianization of Europe, Islam and mending...

11 April 2007, 14:58 Patriarch Alexy speaks again about Orthodoxy in China Moscow, April 11, Interfax - Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia has recently spoken twice on the hard condition of the Orthodox Church in the People’s Republic of China. This year is the 50th anniversary of the Moscow Patriarchate granting autonomy to the Chinese Orthodox Church, Patriarch noted as he spoke at a reception given by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov Tuesday evening. ‘This Church marks her anniversary by having neither a priest nor a bishop, thought there are still many thousands believers who wait for...

Last Updated: Friday, 16 March 2007, 10:57 GMT Rich populist woos Romanians By Oana Lungescu European Affairs correspondent, Bucharest Less than three months after Romania joined the EU, the country is in deep political crisis, with the president and prime minister accusing each other of lying and corruption. Meanwhile, a third man is climbing in the polls. He is Gigi Becali, the multi-millionaire boss of the champion Steaua football club. From humble beginnings as a shepherd, Mr Becali made his fortune in real estate after the fall of communism to become one of Romania's richest men and the second most...

16 February 2007, 16:42 ROCOR criticizes the Constantinople Patriarchate for ‘perpetual interference’ in the Russian Orthodox Church’s affaires Paris, February 16, Interfax - The problems in relationships between the Moscow Patriarchate and the Patriarchate of Constantinople arise because of the latter, Archbishop Mark of Berlin and Germany (Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia) said. He said he meant Constantinople’s ‘perpetual interference in Russian affaires.’ ‘Their interference has become large-scale since 1917, the year of the Bolshevik revolution, when they started meddling with the Russian matters, and it goes on in Estonia and Ukraine,’ the archbishop told the participants of the...

OXFORD, OH — The Episcopal Church USA’s diocese of Virginia is preparing for an all-out legal battle over the ownership of the property in 11 parishes that broke away from the denomination over its tolerance of homosexual clergy. The case involves two of the oldest, largest and most prominent parishes in Virginia and pits church members against the diocese in a struggle over property valued at about $25 million. In December, members of the 11 parishes, including the historic Truro Church and The Falls Church, where founding U.S. president George Washington once worshipped, voted to leave the Episcopal Church and...

You would think that all Christians have a biblical view of the world around them. After all, we go to church, we’re a part of a small group, we’ve read The Purpose-Driven Life. Are you ready for a reality check? The research says just the opposite. Most Christians do not have a biblical worldview. Author and researcher George Barna made waves by citing statistics that show just 9 percent of all adults in America who claim to be “born again” have a biblical worldview. You didn’t read that incorrectly—it was 9 percent. Protestants as a whole could only manage 7...

Rather early the Christian mind began to ask, "Why did God become man?" The Council of Nicaea declared simply that the Incarnation took place "for us men and for our salvation." That is to say, it is a dogma of the Church that the intent of the Incarnation was soteriological. For the rest, however, the history of theology has witnessed a certain diversity in the ways this soteriological intent of the Incarnation was expressed. More specifically, the answer to the question "Why God became man?" depended in no small measure on the meaning of salvation, and Christians, even from New...

Race and conservatism? Yes, that was the title of the panel discussion I’d signed up for, at the Robert A. Taft Club in Arlington, Va. I’d signed up without much thought, being of an insecure and self-deprecating nature (ask anyone), and always flattered to be invited to events at clubs and institutions with impressive-sounding names. Once I did start to think about it, mild panic set in. Race and conservatism? What on earth can one say? In order to say anything, it helps to start with a simplistic view of race, a view that regards Americans as belonging to two...

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey's parliament approved on Thursday a law required by the European Union that will improve property rights of non-Muslim religious minorities, but it is likely to fall short of EU expectations. Parliament approved the "religious foundations law" by 241 votes for to 31 against after months of sometimes stormy debate and much fine-tuning of its wording. -snip- The EU had criticised the foundations law draft, saying it failed to provide for compensation to those whose properties have already been sold to third parties since being taken over by the state or other entities. Brussels has urged Ankara...

Most everyone by now has heard that last week Pope Benedict XVI quoted the Byzantine Emperor Manuel Paleologos II as saying, “Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached.” The interesting twist is that this man was married to the daughter of a Serbian prince. Their son Constantine, who went by his mother’s Serbian last name — Dragas, died fighting the Muslim Ottoman Turks in the first Siege of Constantinople in 1453.

Plano parish will pay to leave Episcopal Churchhttp://www.episcopalchurch.org/3577_77847_ENG_HTM.htm Christ Church Plano, Diocese of Dallas reach 'godly judgment' Episcopal News Service Mary Frances Schjonberg Friday, September 15, 2006 The vestry and rector of Christ Church in Plano, Texas announced September 15 that the parish will pay the Diocese of Dallas $1.2 million for its title to the parish property and disassociate themselves from the Episcopal Church. Bishop James Stanton said, in one of two statements posted on the website of Christ Church in Plano, that he had come to the conclusion that there are "irreconcilable differences between Christ Church and the...

 Evidence of the Divine in Nature The very nature of the Earth,of the heavens, and of lifepoint us to recognition of God.By Fr. James Thornton    A PASSAGE IN THE BOOK OF PSALMS reads, “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth His handywork.” To most men living in the time before the rise of modern science, to look up into the sky was to see irrefutable evidence of God's glory and of His boundless power. The daytime dominated by the majestic fiery orb of the sun, with its life-bestowing warmth and light, and the black dome of...

Russia is grievously sick. This sickness has as its material symptoms the disintegration of our state and social organism. But at its core -- this is a spiritual, and not physical sickness. The visibly material roots of the societal life of the people lie are hidden in the invisible depths. These depths always involve the spiritual life. Russia cannot be healed by material means alone. Not only the body, but also the soul is sick. Russia's restoration to health presupposes first of all the healing of the spiritual foundations of life for the Russian people and the guiding circles of...

The catastrophe, termed the Russian Revolution, through all the degradations, tribulations and disappointments, has to lead to a new and better awareness. Such an experience in the life of a people cannot but enrich and sharpen our perceptiveness. But a crisis of soul will have to precede this perceptiveness with a readiness for repentance and humility. The light will be begotten after an inward cleansing and ascesis. This -- is a law of spiritual life. And it is needful to be aware, that all the whole thinking portion of Russian society, that which has esteemed itself as the bearer knowingly...

Russia: Catholic, Orthodox Churches Unite Against European Secularism By Brian Whitmore PRAGUE, May 29, 2006 (RFE/RL) -- As the Moscow Patriarchate's external relations head, Metropolitan Kiril of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, met Pope Benedict XVI earlier this month, a demonstration was taking place in Moscow that would have pleased many in the Vatican. Members of the Union of Orthodox Citizens were picketing the Moscow premiere of the film "The Da Vinci Code," based on Dan Brown's best-selling novel. Central to Brown's novel is the suggestion that Jesus and Mary Magdalene had a child together, with the bloodline continuing to the present...

PROPOSALS INVITED TOWARD A MORE CIVIL DISCOURSE RE RELIGIOUS FIGURES AT ODDS WITH VARIOUS SENSIBILITIES The current thread regarding Pat Robertson is but the latest in a long tradition of certain flavors of evangelical Christian and particularly Pentecostal/Charismatic religious figures being thoroughly shredded by what--90% or more of the posts--usually in the harshest, most hostile, even demonizing wording possible. It seems that when folks are perceived to be in such Pentecostal/charismatic categories, all bets are off, no holds barred--the most viscious attacks are the minimal Standard Operating Procedure. Instead of exhorting one another in Christian Love, the worst attitudes normally...

The decision to study the primacy of the bishop of Rome in the universal Church of Christ indicates that the Orthodox;Roman Catholic consultation is moving towards the centre of the issues that have separated our respective communions. In this process, our deliberations must take seriously into account the theological statements of the bilateral dialogues between Roman Catholics and Anglicans, Lutherans and others. It must also take into consideration the reflection of Roman Catholic theologians who are seeking to reform; but not to reject ‑ the primacy of the Roman church.[1] Orthodox‑Roman theological reflection of the primacy of the Roman church...

Chesterton's reputation as one of the key figures in Christian literature during the 20th century is linked inextricably with the concept of "orthodoxy." His book of that title, published in 1908, was, according to Wilfrid Ward, a major milestone in the development of Christian thought. Wilfrid Ward was certainly not alone in his flattering praise of Chesterton's book. Its influence on the intellectual development of a whole generation was summed up by Dorothy L. Sayers. She had first read Orthodoxy as a schoolgirl when her faith had been threatened by adolescent doubt. In later years she confessed that its "invigorating...

The holy Synod of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church met in Rabweh, Lebanon July 22-27, 1996 and, after studying the question of unity within the Patriarchate of Antioch, declared that communicatio in sacris = worship in common is possible today and that the ways and means of its application would be left to the joint decisions of the two Antiochian Church Synods - Melkite Greek Catholic and Greek Orthodox. The Synod of thirty-four bishops and four general superiors under the presidency of Patriarch Maximos V (Hakim) deliberated extensively on the topic of church unity particularly within the Antiochian Patriarchate which...

12 April 2006, 11:34 The first Soviet cosmonaut proposed reconstruction of the Church of Christ the Saviour Moscow, April 12, Interfax - Cosmonaut Yury Gagarin was one of the first to put forward as far back as 1964 the initiative to reconstruct the Church of Christ the Saviour destroyed by the Bolsheviks, Air Force Colonel in reserve Valentin Petrov, Gagarin’s close friend, told Interfax. He said Gagarin set forward this proposal after their trip together to St. Sergious’s Laura of the Trinity and visit to the Church Archeology Museum there. ‘When we came up to look at the model of...

Of the authority of the bishops of Rome during the sixth, seventh, and eighth centuries. We have already seen that the œumenical councils of Constantinople and Chalcedon had given to the Bishop of Constantinople the second place in the Catholic episcopacy, and that St. Leo, Bishop of Rome, had opposed this law, as changing the hierarchal order established at the first Œcumenical Council of Nicea. We may believe that St. Leo was indeed only moved to this opposition by his respect for the canons. But his successors, probably, had another motive. They feared lest the Bishop of Constantinople should soon...

Is the New Mass Really a Return to Patristic Sources? by Fr. Romano Thommasi When a man such as His Excellency Bishop Piero Marini finds himself in a unique position of authority, every action and every word that he speaks is normally seen as symbolic or indicative of an ideology held by the same man. In drafting a response to the interview granted by His Excellency Bishop Piero Marini to John L. Allen Jr. of the National Catholic Reporter, some first impressions and observations ought to be expressed before critiquing some very troubling phrases that supposedly issued from the good...

My wife and I were born into Lutheran homes, and we were baptized as infants in the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Both of our families were active in their Lutheran congregations, and both of us were raised in “traditional” Lutheran homes. At the age of about 13, when I was confirmed, my pastor suggested that I consider becoming a Lutheran pastor. I’d never even thought of this before. My education began in High School, continued through Junior College and Senior College, and culminated with four years at Concordia Seminary in...

21 March 2006 Moscow dismisses U.S. Congress concern over religious freedom Moscow, March 20, Interfax - The Russian Foreign Ministry has described as strange a resolution passed by the U.S. House of Representatives stating that Russia violates the rights of believers and restricts religious freedom. The Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the resolution effectively alleges that members of certain religions that are non-traditional for Russia have had problems regarding their registration and the opportunity to freely practice their faith. "Russia, a country whose contemporary civilization has been developing in the Eastern Christian tradition (from 60% to 80% of...

"What are the controversial issues in Orthodoxy?" This question, recently posed on a Beliefnet message board, is the dandelion in the lawn of Orthodox inquirers. It’s the question I kept asking, fifteen years ago, when my family was deciding to leave our mainline denomination. If we became Orthodox, what would we be getting into? Was it going to be the same heartbreaking arguments and debate - just over pierogis instead of doughnuts? Well, there are controversies in Orthodoxy, all right, but they’re not *those* controversies. You can find people on the internet arguing heatedly about whether churches should follow the...

16 March 2006, 12:38 Moscow Patriarchate representative in Europe predicts a gradual severance of relations among Christians Moscow, March 16, Interfax - The Orthodox are appalled at the attempts of the Protestants to force discussion of homosexualism on the World Council of Churches (WCC), representative of the Moscow Patriarchate to the European Institutions bishop Hilarion of Vienna and Austria said. ‘Attempts of certain Protestant churches to force discussion of sexual minorities on the WCC have provoked a particular indignation of the Orthodox’, the hierarch said in his interview to the web-site of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia. According...

17 March 2006, 00:01 Patriarch Alexy backs decision to ban Moscow gay parade Moscow, March 16, (Interfax - Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia has backed Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov's decision to ban a gay parade in the city. The patriarch thanked the mayor in an open letter for his "decision to prevent public propaganda for immorality." The Church "has invariably supported the institution of the family and condemns untraditional relations, seeing them as a vicious deviation from God-given human nature," Alexy II writes. Such an event would be unacceptable, given the current demographic crisis in Russia, the...

MINNEAPOLIS, March 9, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) - It seems like all hell is breaking loose in the archdiocese of St. Paul - Minneapolis.  In recent weeks 27 priests signed a petition against Archbishop Harry Flynn's backing for a measure to protect the traditional definition of marriage (http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/mar/06031006.html ).  The diocese is refusing to release those names and it has not publicly ordered the priests to be silent about their heterodox views, but it has, at the same time, silenced a faithful priest who objected to the graphic sex-ed program advocated by the archdiocese (http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/mar/06030602.html ).  Like many dioceses in North America,...

<    Return to the Main Menu | Sign up for our Newsletter | Join our new Discussion Forums | Comments and Suggestions Alexander IIIBy Scott MalsomConsidered Russia's last true autocrat, Alexander III was the epitome of what a Russian Tsar was supposed to be. Forceful, formidable, fiercely patriotic, and at 6' 4" towered over his fellow countrymen. He was the embodiment of the fabled Russian bear. He came to power at a critical point in Imperial Russian history. The Industrial Revolution had finally come to Russia and capitalism was taking root. Foreign investment within the country was at an...

02 March 2006, 12:57 Hungarian government to finance the restoration of a Russian cathedral in Budapest Moscow, March 2, Interfax - In a friendly gesture in response to the return of the Sarospatak Library to Hungary, the Hungarian government will finance the restoration of the Cathedral of the Dormition in Budapest, the official web-site of the Russian Orthodox Church has reported on Thursday. This was mentioned yesterday in a talk between Bishop Hilarion of Vienna and Austria and Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany when Bishop Hilarion thanked the prime minister for this decision made by the Hungarian government on the...

02 March 2006, 12:34 Patriarch Alexy: New biotechnologies should not infringe upon human dignity Moscow, March 2, Interfax - Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia has called upon medics to respect human dignity in introducing new biotechnologies. ‘The rapid development of biotechnologies challenges traditional religious awareness. Any evaluation of this development from the religious and moral point of view is possible only in dialogue between theologians, medics and scientists’, the patriarch says in his message to the International Conference on Development of Biotechnologies: Challenges to Christian Ethics, which has opened on Thursday in Moscow. According to Alexy II,...

Since Betty Friedan's death I've found myself wishing that the cause I care about most had a voice like hers to speak for us. That cause is traditional Judaism — which, among many others things to recommend it, offers a wiser and ultimately more humane vision of womanhood than does feminism. Indeed, women under 45 or so have mostly seen through Friedan's idealization of work-outside-the-home as the necessary and sufficient condition of a meaningful life. But never mind that. I envy Friedan's singular gift as a revolutionary consciousness-raiser. Her book "The Feminine Mystique" initiated modern feminism. Today the Jewish world...