Francis Beckwith

First Things readers in the greater Chicagoland area may be interested in an upcoming conference on Global Bioethics sponsored by the Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity .  It will be held July 16-18, 2009 on the campus of Trinity International University in Deerfield, Illinois.  Among . . . . Continue Reading »

Stephen Barr, in the entry below , expresses a frustration that some of us have faced, and continue to face, with ID advocates, many of whom are our friends. Take, for example, John West’s interpretation of Romans 1:20. Paul writes: “For since the creation of the world God’s . . . . Continue Reading »

Over at NRO , Jonah Goldberg offers some nice insights on the way the media have covered Michael Jackson’s passing. Here is an excerpt : [H]is relatively early death wasn’t “tragic.” He was one of the richest people in the world. He spent his money on perpetual childhood and he . . . . Continue Reading »

Joe, you are spot on . A “hypocrite” could technically behave consistently with what he proclaims while not really believing it. This is why Jesus referred to some hypocrites as “white washed tombs.” In the words of Bob Dylan : “When the deeds that you do Don’t . . . . Continue Reading »

Legendary Georgetown University theology professor, Fr. Thomas King, S. J., died last night. He was the founding president of University Faculty for Life, an academic society on whose board I sit. We will miss our beloved Fr. King. The following appeared last night on the website of The Hoya , . . . . Continue Reading »

That is the title of my recently published review of Kerry Kennedy’s Being Catholic Now . Here’s an excerpt from the review that appeared in the June 2009 issue of The Catholic World Report . As if to provide a definitive example of the lack of serious intellectual curiosity about the . . . . Continue Reading »

We can’t let this day end without mentioning that it is the feast day of St. Thomas More. The following is from the website of St. Thomas More Catholic Church in Austin, Texas : He was, of course, a man for all seasons . . . . . . a classical scholar, a humanist, a statesman, a politician, a man . . . . Continue Reading »

If you have not heard yet, President Barack Obama has accepted an invitation from the University of Notre Dame¯not only to address its graduates at its May 17 commencement exercises but also to have bestowed upon him at this event an honorary doctorate of laws.The University of Notre Dame is a . . . . Continue Reading »

On November 4, 2008, the people of California¯in a 52 to 48 percent vote¯placed in the state’s constitution an amendment that reaffirmed that marriage consists of one man and one woman. The amendment, Proposition 8, overturned the California Supreme Court’s May 2008 ruling that . . . . Continue Reading »

Robert T. Miller is one of my favorite First Things contributors. So it is indeed an honor that he would think my post on Richard Dawkins worthy of critique .I am not going to quibble with Miller’s claim that there is a distinction between purpose and function, for I do not think it is . . . . Continue Reading »