We Hold These Truths: Catholic Reflections on the American Proposition

By John Courtney Murray

Book Overview

The 1960 publication of We Hold These Truths marked a significant event in the history of modern American thought. Since that time, Sheed & Ward has kept the book in print and has published several studies of John Courtney Murray's life and work. We are proud to present a new edition of this classic text, which features a comprehensive introduction by Peter Lawler that places Murray in the context of Catholic and American history and thought while revealing his relevance today.

From the new Introduction by Peter Lawler:

The Jesuit John Courtney Murray (1904-67) was, in his time, probably the best known and most widely respected American Catholic writer on the relationship between Catholic philosophy and theology and his country's political life. The highpoint of his influence was the publication of We Hold These Truths in the same year as an election of our country's first Catholic president. Those two events were celebrated by a Time cover story (December 12, 1960) on Murray's work and influence. The story's author, Protestant Douglas Auchincloss, reported that it was "The most relentlessly intellectual cover story I've done." His amazingly wide ranging and dense-if not altogether accurate-account of Murray's thought was crowned with a smart and pointed conclusion: "If anyone can help U.S. Catholics and their non-Catholic countrymen toward the disagreement that precedes understanding-John Courtney Murray can."

. . . Murray's work, of course, is treated with great respect and has had considerable influence, but now it's time to begin to think of him as one of America's very few genuine political philosophers. His disarmingly lucid and accessible prose has caused his book to be widely cited and celebrated, but it still is not well understood. It is both praised and blamed for reconciling Catholic faith with the fundamental premises of American political life. It is praised by liberals for paving the way for Vatican II's embrace of the American idea of religious liberty, and it is

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0742549011
• ISBN13: 9780742549012
• Release Date: July 2005
• Publisher: Sheed & Ward
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.8" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Good Politics for Today

Eureka! What a find! A dual triumph against nihilism and naivete! Taking the time to examine the essentials of politics and public consensus, John Courtney Murray transcends the religious bigotry and secular insanities of our day, to show the inherent madness of some of our more liberal politicians, and the corresponding stupidity of some of our more conservative ones. A remarkably balanced book (if the reader forgives the author for his occasional Latin phraseology), the fact that it was written in defense against the leering Communist threat does not detract from its relevance today. Examining the beginnings, historical context, nature, and pragmatic validity of the American Experiment as interpreted in the 20th Century, he applies the Founding Fathers' and Western civilization's traditional values to redefine progress today.

New Intro, classic book

Peter Lawler's fascinating and comprehensive to Murray's thought in the context of the American Catholic natural law tradition makes this new edition of WHTT more than worth the money. Someone might quibble with the placement of Lawler's intro, and perhaps the publisher should restore the integrity of Murray's text in the next printing.