Oberst, Paul Leo

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Kentucky Law JournalVolume 37 | Issue 3 Article 151949Contemporary Religious Jurisprudence by J. A.RubensteinPaul Leo OberstUniversity of KentuckyFollow this and additional works at: https://uknowledge.uky.edu/kljRight click to open a feedback form in a new tab to let us know how this document benefitsyou.This Book Review is brought to you for free and open access by the Law Journals at UKnowledge. It has been accepted for inclusion in Kentucky LawJournal by an authorized editor of UKnowledge. For more information, please contact UKnowledge@lsv.uky.edu.Recommended CitationOberst, Paul Leo (1949) "Contemporary Religious Jurisprudence by J. A. Rubenstein," Kentucky Law Journal: Vol. 37 : Iss. 3 , Article15.Available at: https://uknowledge.uky.edu/klj/vol37/iss3/15BOOK REVIEWSCONTEMPORARY RELIGIOUS JURISPRUDENCE, J. A. Rubenstem, Wal--tam Press, P 0. Box 97, Chicago 90, Ill. 1948, pp. 120. $2.25."Contemporary Religious Jurisprudence" is a rather high-flowntitle for what is basically an undigested collection of cases involving.fortune-tellers, faith healers and pacifists.The author thinks the tenets of these people seriously threaten-the public morals, health, welfare and safety and that it is absolutelynecessary to impose and enforce legal restrictions and limitations-upon their practice. That he is not concerned solely with extremes-of conduct is best evidenced by his statement that "These tenets,one or more, and in various forms, are exploited by most, if not by.all, of the contemporary sects," (i.e. religious denominations?). This.seems to be a rather broad statement if the words fortune-telling,faith-healing and pacifism are taken in their ordinary sense. The,author is not inclined to make fine discriminations, however, andin one sentence lumps Christian Science practitioners and SeventhDay Adventist clergymen along with conjurors.The author seems equally unable to make discrininations when-it comes to the question of the border line between police power ofthe state and religious liberty of the individual. The formula "Thelaw can punish religious practices which are criminal offenses"-solves all problems whether of prophecy (p. 23), faith-healing(p. 64), or pacifism (p. 107) As long as the legislature has pro-nounced something criminal, he implies, no further question of con-.stitutionality can arise. One feels that the author has little patience-with any assertion of religious belief that does not satisfy his con-ception of what is good for society as a whole-n short, that he is-just a little intolerant. He seems to be basically out of step with thefeelings of Mr. Justice Holmes in regard to freedom of speech which,so influences the majority of the present Supreme Court in its hand-ling of problems of freedom of speech and religion. Surely one can-believe that prophecy faith-healing and pacifism are delusionswithout insisting so strenuously on the duty of law to take active-measures to check their every manifestation. In a country with:such variation in religious belief as the United States, our nationalexistence demands that we act on Mr. Justice Holmes' belief that"'the best test of truth is the power of the thought to get itself ac--cepted in the competition of the market" and his warning that "we;should be eternally vigilant against attempts to check the expressionof opinions that we loathe and believe to be fraught with death unlessthey so imminently threaten immediate interference with the lawfuland pressing purposes of the law that an innmediate check :is re-quired to save the country "' Necessarily this limitation is not a mat-' Abrams v United States 250 U.S. 616, at 630 (1919)BooK REVIEWSter of absolutes but of degree; it is just at this point that Mr. Ruben-stein' dislike of these practices leads him to the same sort of abso-lutism that he so denounces in "religious zealots."One wonders whether his own zealotry has not caused him tomisread some of his cases. For instance, he reads the case of Langev. Hoyt; as holding that although an infant Christian Scientist, en-tirely dependent upon her parents for care, can recover for all herinjuries which were inflicted by defendant's automobile, includingaggravation resulting from failure to obtain proper surgical careduring a 25 day period, the adult Christian Scientist parent could not--cover for medical expenses resulting from the aggravated injurySays Mr. Rubenstein: "The trial judge had instructed the jury fav-orably for the defendant insofar as the clain of the mother wasconcerned. In reviewing this point, the Connecticut Supreme Courtintimated that such instruction was justified by the facts in this.case." (p. 72)The reviewer's reading of the case is quite to the contrary Theplaintiff's mother, Minette B. Lange, sued to recover expenses in-curred by her as a result of injuries to her daughter. The court in-structed the jury that:" the conduct of both plaintiffs with reference tothe presence or absence of reasonable care was to bejudged in the light of all the surrounding circumstancesincluding whatever belief as to methods of treatmentthe jury might have found they conscientiously held."'The jury found for the plaintiff, Minette Lange, as well as for herdaughter and the trial court refused to set aside the verdicts. Inapproving the instruction given by the trial court, the SupremeCourt of Errors of Connecticut said:"While the test of conduct on the part of a plaintiff inpromoting a recovery from injuries suffered is one ofreasonable care and cannot be made to depend uponthe idiosyncrasies of personal belief no matter howhonestly held, courts cannot disregard theories as toproper curative methods held by a large number ofreasonable and intelligent people. Reading the chargein the light of the facts claimed to have been proved,it went no farther than saying that, in determiningwhether the plaintiff Minette B. Lange exercised a rea-sonable degree of care, the jury were entitled to con-sider with all the other evidence her conduct in thelight of her belief in the doctrines of the ChristianScience Church and the extent to which she acted inaccordance with them."'It seems to the reviewer that this statement in effect leaves tothe jury, under the general concept of reasonableness, the question114 Conn. 590, 159 Atl. 575 (1932)Id. at -, 159 Atl. 577.'Id. at - 159 Atl. 576-578.KENTUCKY LAv J OURNAIJof whether or not the adult plaintiff is to be barred from recoveryfor medical expenses incurred by reason of the aggravation of theinjuries of her daughter due to the parent's insistence on treatmentby a Christian Scientist practitioner instead of by a regular medicaldoctor. This is far from a rule of law imposing upon adult ChristianScientists the duty of obtaining exactly the same care that a non-Christian Scientist would obtain for the same injury Whateverone may think of the desirability of the holding in the Lange case,it is submitted that the author has misstated it.The book's only value is in its collection of cases, under threenovel headings. Its utility for this purpose is unfortunately impairedbecause of the failure to insert a table of cases.PAUL OBERSTUniversity of KentuckyCollege of LawTHE FEDERAL INCOME TAX: A GUIDE TO THE LAW, Joyce Stanleyand Richard Kilcullen, The Tax Club Press, 822 Madison Avenue,Ni. Y. 21, N. Y. pp. xv, 344. $6.This book is not a treatise on the income tax. The authors doniot profess to attempt more than a guide to the Federal income tax.It is therefore written in lay language for the guidance of the non-expert in both the general public and in the legal profession.This book follows its subject through the Internal RevenueCo.de, section by section. There is in addition under each section anattempt to bring to bear the more important features of the admin-istrative regulations and the leading cases. Where there is contro-versy concerning the application of a specific section the problemis 3ndicated, without any attempt to give a reasoned answer to thatproblem.An interesting and helpful feature of this work is the carefulphrasing of the sentences which explain the scope and purpose ofmany of the important sections. In addition the discussion ofmany sections is clarified and simplified by the inclusion of practicalillu trations.The material in the book is quite current and illustrated by the-pre,;ence of a discussion of the "income splitting" additions made bythe 1948 Revenue Act. It is possible that subsequent changes may besup-lied by the authors since the book's construction permits theaddition of a pocket supplement. The index appears adequate forthe purposes of a guide.This book will be a substitute for the elaborate tax services soindispensable to the initiate in this field. The authors recognize thisin "heir conclusion when they say- "The book is planned as a guidefor those who wish to understand income tax law. As stated in

Contemporary Religious Jurisprudence by J. A. Rubenstein

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