Archive
More than thirty years of First Things articles at your fingertips.
Articles
Antidote to Fast Living
“Describing the Sabbath is like describing ice cream to somebody who has never eaten it. You can describe it all you want, but the proof is in the big...
The Great Tension We Face
“I met some kids in Thailand who worked on the street in a red-light district, and they sold flowers. They were going in and out of these brothels. That...
Faith Without a Hitch
“There she is, speaking through broken English, she’s poorly educated, she’s no match for Hitchens in debate, and yet her whole life trumped every single argument he could make...
Love, American Style
“Obviously, the way people ‘sell themselves’ has a lot to do with creating certain illusions, creating positive impressions and that is what interested me in reading the personals in...
Redemption of a White House Insider
“I said to the president, ‘You should have taken me by the lapels and tossed me onto Pennsylvania Avenue for what I have done.’ He said to me, ‘I...
The Better Part: Fr. John Bartunek Shares Our Journey
“We’re all contradictory. We all have the potential for great good and the potential for great sin — that’s the human condition.” Gayle recently spoke with Father John Bartunek,...
Is “Christian” the New “Gay”?
Gayle recently spoke with D. Michael Lindsay, sociologist, newly appointed president of Gordon College, and author of multiple books, including Faith in the Halls of Power: How Evangelicals Joined the American...
Can Buddhists Teach Christians?
“As long as people shape their identity from this sense of being a victim in the past, it’s difficult to move forward, and we inflict suffering upon ourselves and...
“Buy More” Children?
“There is this free lunch of just stop doing things that you and your kid don’t enjoy, and it’s not going to change the future anyway, so relax. I...
Rick Santorum’s Constituency of One
“Who would actually think they are able to do a job of this significance and this difficulty?” Gayle recently spoke with former Senator Rick Santorum about faith, politics, the presidency,...
A Prince for Every Princess?
“It is possible to hold onto a desire of our heart without succumbing to bitterness or a fretful anxiety about the future, but to be content here and now.”...
Spoon in the Blender
“I had hunted down this specialist like a crazed groupie and had really badgered his office for just about a year to convince him to come out and consult...
Priest Squares Off with Atheists
“The question isn’t so much whether it’s possible to be morally good without religion. It’s like saying is it possible to dig a hole with a teaspoon. Sure, but...
Hidden Disabilities in the Body of Christ
“God said, ‘Shannon, I hung naked on a cross for you. Look at your son.’ What does it matter what these people around me think of me or my mothering...
Tweeting the Inner Ring
The desire to be a part of the “inner ring” and the “terror of being left outside” is a chief motivation underlying many human behaviors. C.S. Lewis highlighted the...