touchstones for Christian orthodoxy—rnare clearly incompatible with Jewish convictions.rnSome Christians and Jews havernsought to bridge this gap with a “tworncovenant” theory, arguing that the Mosaicrncovenant is the means of salvationrnfor Jews, while the “new covenant” ofrnChristianity applies to Gentiles.rnThe history of relations betweenrnChristians and Jews is a long and troubledrnone, with many excesses performedrnby Christians (the worst of the atrocities,rnthe Nazi genocide, was the work of peoplernwho repudiated Christianity). SincernWodd War II it has become increasinglyrncommon for Jews and Christians to workrntogether, and this might seem to favorrnProfessor Kreeft’s project. However, it isrnpreciselv the evangelical Protestants, thernprime Protestant candidates to enlist inrnProfessor Kreeft’s ecumenical jihad, whorncontinue to evangelize Jews, thus provokingrnantagonism, particularly among thernless observant Jews.rnTo create a common front amongrnProtestants, Catholics, and Orthodox isrnhard enough; to secure the cooperationrnof Jews in such a common effort, even ifrnthey share common moral values, isrnmore difficult, but it is not impossible.rnThe proposal to recruit and includernMuslims is, however, highly problematic.rnIslam is indeed monotheistic, and manyrnof its ethical principles parallel those ofrnJudaism and Christianity. Nevertheless,rnfrom its birth, Islam has engaged in aggressivernwars of conquest against thernChristian lands of the Near East andrnNorth Africa, expanding primarily in thernwake of conquest, even invading Spainrnand France, until it was stopped byrnCharles Martel at Tours in 732. In AsiarnMinor, the Islamic Arabs and Turksrnwaged war against the Christian empirernof Constantinople for 800 years, a policyrninterrupted for several decades by thernCrusades but which resumed to capturernConstantinople in 1453. After that, thernTurks moved aggressively against southeasternrnEurope until finally stopped atrnVienna in 1682.rnWhile Muslims receive toleration andrnsometimes even state subsidies in Westernrndemocracies, in the countries theyrndominate Christianity is barely tolerated,rnand in some cases is aggressively persecuted.rnMoreover, the nations that consistentlyrnline up against Israel are predominantlyrnMuslim. Under suchrncircumstances a jihad is not likely to bernecumenical. By attempting too grand arncoalition. Professor Kreeft may have undercutrnmore realistic efforts at makingrncommon cause.rn—Harold O.J. BrownrnEPICYCLES:rn• National Sovereignty: The BrickerrnAmendment lives on. RepresentativernHelen Chenoweth (R-ID) has resurrectedrnthe amendment 43 years after itrnmissed ratification by one vote in thernUnited States Senate. Chenoweth’srnHouse Joint Resolution 83 would forbidrn”any foreign power or any internationalrnorganization to supervise, control, or adjudicaternrights in this Constitution orrnany other matter essentially within therndomestic jurisdiction of the UnitedrnStates or the several states.” Whenrnasked by Human Events this summerrnabout the need for such an amendment,rnChenoweth expertly recounted pastrnSupreme Court decisions that havernallowed a foreign treaty or organizationrnto supersede state law as well as the slewrnof recent international agreements thatrnthreaten state sovereignty, such as thernChemical Weapons Convention, whichrncould soon force some 8,000 Americanrnbusinesses to open their doors to U.N. inspection.rn”If we do not have sovereignty,”rnconcluded Chenoweth, “we do notrnhave self-government.” Such commonrnsense is startling for its rarity today.rn• States’ Rights: For all the wrong reasons,rnthe Supreme Court made the rightrndecision in Boeine v. Texas, strikingrndown the Religious Freedom RestorationrnAct (RFRA). The Court argued that, byrnpassing RFRA, Congress had usurpedrnpowers normally reserved to the judiciary.rnIn reality. Congress had usurpedrnpowers normally reserved to the statesrnand locahties. The Christian Coalition’srnfavorite piece of legislation was an apparentrngodsend to prison inmates with toornmuch time on their hands, who suedrnsuccessfully to engage in “religious practices”rnranging from Santeria and voodoornto Satanism, Christian Identity, andrnRastafarianism.rnAs soon as Boerne v. Texas headed tornthe Supreme Court, the Christian Coalitionrnand others saw the handwriting onrnthe wall. Through Oklahoma RepresentativernErnest Istook, they introduced thernReligious Freedom Amendment inrnCongress. A floor vote is expected thisrnfall, but don’t expect the debate to focusrnon the real issue: why the religion lobbyrnis hellbent on subverting both Christianityrnand American federalism.rn• Free Trade Benefits: President Clintonrnand leading congressmen claimedrnthat they would reconsider NAFTA if,rnafter a reasonable period, it hadn’t led tornbetter economic conditions for Americanrnworkers. Well, it’s been almost fourrnyears, and according to the Clinton administration’srnown numbers, NAFTArnhas failed. In a report released in July,rnthe administration admits that 99,497rnworkers have been certified as losing jobsrnbecause of NAFTA. The trade deficitrnwith Canada has doubled to $21.7 billion,rnand the trade surplus with Mexicornis now a trade deficit of $17.5 billion.rnThe media claimed that the administrationrnbelieves NAFTA has created up torn160,000 new American jobs, but the reportrnsimply states that these jobs are “dependent”rnon post-NAFTA trade (many,rnif not all, were around before NAFTA).rnBut don’t underestimate the optimismrnof NAFTA proponents. Accordingrnto Commerce Secretary William Daley,rnthese numbers actually prove that thernadministration and its running dogs inrnCongress were right, and opponents ofrnNAFTA, from Pat Buchanan and RossrnPerot to Ralph Nader and the SierrarnClub, were wrong. In an interview withrnthe Chicago Tribune, Daley claimed thatrnthe administration’s predictions werern”much closer to what has occurred overallrnwith . . . NAFTA and the benefits ofrnincreased exports and job creation.” SornNAFTA has been a “boon” for Americans.rnAnd dead men don’t vote inrnChicago.rnO B I T E R DIGTA: Timothy Murphy,rna poet whose work appeared in our Julyrnissue, has contributed a new poem tornChronicles this month. A resident of Fargo,rnNorth Dakota, Mr. Murphy has hadrnpersonal experience with the flooding herndescribes. The other poet this month isrnJared Garter of Indianapolis. Mr.rnCarter’s first collection of verse, Work,rnFor the Night Is Coming, won the WaltrnWhitman Award for 1980; his second.rnAfter the Rain, won the Poets’ Prize forrn1995. Chronicles is illustrated thisrnmonth by Anna Mycek-Wodecki, thernart director of Chronicles. Her work hasrnappeared in exhibitions in Warsaw, Paris,rnWallsee, Austria, and New York City.rnSEPTEMBER 1997/9rnrnrn