What is it like to be a Christian in a country where, despite extensive missionary efforts, believers remain only a tiny minority? The Japanese writer Shusaku Endo has been answering that question in novels and stories over a career spanning some 40 years. Endo, who also wrote a life of Jesus, has a newly translated collection of stories: "The Final Martyrs" (New Directions, 199 pp.; $21.95, hardcover). Eleven stories are included, the earliest from 1959, the latest from 1985. For readers who have not tried Endo, this is a good starting place. (Down the road: a Martin Scorsese film of Endo's novel "Silence").
Two new books shed light on the work of the Scottish-born philosopher Alasdair Maclntyre. Calling for "the re-creation of the university as a place of constrained disagreement," MacIntyre has argued that religious viewpoints—largely suppressed in the liberal university—should be represented along with other standpoints, initiating students into the conflict between rival traditions. (Here MacIntyre's argument parallels George Marsden's in "The Soul of the American University;" see CT, Aug. 15, 1994, pp. 33-35.)
"The American Philosopher" (Chicago, 177 pp.; $13.95, paper), a collection of interviews edited by Giovanna Borradori, features an illuminating conversation with MacIntyre. "After MacIntyre: Critical Perspectives on the Work of Alasdair MacIntyre" (Notre Dame, 340 pp.; $39.95, hardcover), edited by John Horton and Susan Mendus, is a collection of original essays assessing the strengths and weaknesses of MacIntyre's work; a response by MacIntyre is included. See also MacIntyre's essay "'How Can We Learn What Veritatis Splendor Has to Teach?'" in The Thomist 58 (April 1994): 171-95.
Mark Noll recommends another outstanding reference work on the history of modern evangelicalism: "The Australian Dictionary of Evangelical Biography" (417 pp.; hardcover), edited by Brian Dickey of the Flinders University of South Australia with the cooperation of Australia's Evangelical History Association, records the lives of nearly 700 evangelicals who have enlivened the history of that great island continent. The articles are authoritative and informative, but also written with more verve and personal interpretation than is usual for such works. The book is available from the Evangelical History Association, P.O. Box 1505, Macquarie Center, New South Wales 2113, Australia."
Copyright © 1994 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.
Have something to add about this? See something we missed? Share your feedback here.
Our digital archives are a work in progress. Let us know if corrections need to be made.
Annual & Monthly subscriptions available.
- Print & Digital Issues of CT magazine
- Complete access to every article on ChristianityToday.com
- Unlimited access to 65+ years of CT’s online archives
- Member-only special issues
- Learn more
More from this Issue
Read These Next
- TrendingAmerican Christians Should Stand with Israel under AttackWhile we pray for peace, we need moral clarity about this war.
- From the MagazineI Hated ‘Church People.’ But I Knew I Needed Them.As I attended my second funeral in three weeks, two Christians showed me a kindness I couldn’t explain.
- Editor's PickShoes Stay On for Maundy ThursdayFew Protestant traditions continue the footwashing that Jesus did at the Last Supper. Some want a revival of the practice.