BIBLES 'PLACED BY FDR'
THE SCRAPBOOK could have gone back much earlier--and higher up on the political ladder--than Dean Acheson to demonstrate how religion and politics once coexisted quite nicely in this country ("Back Before the Theocrats Took Over," Oct. 2). During World War II, the War Department distributed a copy of the Bible to every member of the armed forces, along with this message from President Franklin Delano Roosevelt: "As Commander in Chief, I take pleasure in commending the reading of the Bible to all who serve in the armed forces of the United States. Throughout the centuries, men of many faiths and diverse origins have found in the Sacred Book words of wisdom, counsel, and inspiration. It is a foundation of strength and now, as always, an aid in attaining the highest aspirations of the human soul."
ERIC FETTMANN
New York, N.Y.
POPE ON THE WAVES
EVEN WITH the richness of Lee Harris's analysis of Pope Benedict XVI's Regensburg address in "Socrates or Muhammad?" (Oct. 2), more remains to be said about this remarkable document. Harris claims the pope did not "assail or attack modernity or the Enlightenment." This imputed moderation is at odds with Harris's bold (and perceptive) comparison of Benedict to Socrates, who would have brooked no such blinders.
Benedict's English translator fails him: "[C]ritique of modern reason from within" is a misleading translation of a (dubious) interpretation of " Selbstkritik der modernen Vernunft," or "self-critique of modern reason." Benedict shows that this punning self-criticism is possible only by transcending the horizon of modern reason.
Also, Benedict's discussion of the various stages in "the dehellenization of Christianity" might better be understood as "three waves ( Wellen)" of dehellenization or alienation from reason--thus recalling that other contemporary Socrates, Leo Strauss, who wrote of "three waves of modernity." There are remarkable parallels between Strauss's and Benedict's categories, which deserve thoughtful consideration by all men of reason.
KEN MASUGI
Washington, D.C.
IVY ATHLETICS
WHILE I enjoyed Matthew Continetti's "George Allen Monkeys Around" (Oct. 2) about the senator of my former state (and hopefully not soon the former senator), there was an oversight on college athletics. Although Allen might have been recruited by Princeton football, he could not have been offered an athletic scholarship, as the Ivy League is renowned for its lack of athletic scholarships (and it shows on the football field).
CHRISTOPHER A. HARTWELL
Chicago, Ill.
LEARNED VMI GRADS
A S A 1954 liberal arts graduate of the Virginia Military Institute, I enjoyed Mark Bauerlein's "Saluting the Canon" (Sept. 18) about the teaching of the liberal arts at military schools. I was surprised and disappointed, though, that he did not mention VMI. The Institute was tied for number one among all public liberal arts colleges in U.S. News's 2007 college guide. At any rate, the publicity is welcome for all liberal arts majors, and for lovers of literature, military or otherwise.
PERRY ARCHER
Houston, Tex.