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Unseen Worlds

From the February 2023 Print Edition

I am among the foremost skeptics of science’s pretensions. But I count myself among the first to express amazement and thanks for revelations that scientific work has provided—not so much discovering “new” worlds as uncovering hidden worlds. Consider the amazing event of January 14, . . . . Continue Reading »

An Honest Magazine

From Web Exclusives

Rigorous analysis, the value of persons, humility, correction, and—oh yes—the truth of God: First Things has been sticking to this for years, through both the light rumbles and seismic shakings of our times.  Continue Reading »

Slippery Slopes

From the January 2023 Print Edition

The Canadian government, with its leaders, functionaries, and even its medical acolytes, may well deserve to be charged with crimes against humanity. I am not speaking about crimes done against indigenous peoples, a different area of moral and judicial concern. I have in mind another set of crimes, . . . . Continue Reading »

Ancients and Moderns

From the December 2022 Print Edition

We are no better than our ancestors. I firmly believe this, although apparently many others do not. My disagreement with prevailing opinion concerns more than current academic arrogance and anachronism with respect to our ancestors. I’m opposed to the sweeping trends of popular attitude and public . . . . Continue Reading »

Against Genius

From the November 2022 Print Edition

“This is the main road God takes to come to us: our recognition of our own ignorance.” So said Stephen of Muret, a medieval hermit and purported founder of the Grandmontine order of monks that disappeared in the eighteenth century. The idea that wisdom comes from admitting our own ignorance was . . . . Continue Reading »

The Last Lambeth Conference

From the October 2022 Print Edition

July’s was probably the last recognizable assembly of the Lambeth Conference we shall see in this generation (and perhaps the next). No longer will “all” the bishops of the Anglican Communion gather, but only some, and only from some places. No longer will the deliberation of the Communion’s . . . . Continue Reading »

New Faith

From the October 2022 Print Edition

When I was twenty-four, I spent several weeks sleeping on the floor of the Brussels Salvation Army, waiting to start a French course. I was on my way to mission work in Burundi. I shared a room with a half dozen other men from various backgrounds. One, named Gershom, was a Romanian Jew, who had . . . . Continue Reading »

Speaking of Unbelief

From the Aug/Sept Issue 2022 Print Edition

There has been a spate of reports on disappearing churches, waning faith, changing religious attitudes, and the ways in which COVID has affected the religious landscape. The numbers reported are probably accurate; there probably are fewer people going to church these days, with the number decreasing . . . . Continue Reading »