Joe Carter

[Note: Every Friday on First Thoughts we host a discussion about some aspect of pop culture. Today’s theme is personality-defining books. Have a suggestion for a topic? Send them to me at jcarter@firstthings.com .] “If you could have just one book to explain yourself, what would it . . . . Continue Reading »

First Things senior editor David Goldman appeared on CNBC’s Larry Kudlow show last night to discuss the troubled financial markets. Part I Part II . . . . Continue Reading »

Catholic scholars say those who thwart labor unions commit mortal sin: A group of Catholic scholars contends that management efforts to break labor unions are a grave breech of the church’s social doctrine and tantamount to committing mortal sin. A statement from Weymouth, Mass.-based . . . . Continue Reading »

Although I had vowed to give the subject a much needed rest, I feel compelled to show due respect to those who objected to my post claiming that atheists are exhibiting vincible ignorance in failing to acknowledge the existence of God. The most common complaint registered by my critics was that I . . . . Continue Reading »

On Monday the Supreme Court ruled the federal government has the power to keep some sex offenders behind bars indefinitely after they have served their sentences if officials determine those inmates may prove “sexually dangerous” in the future: “The federal government, as . . . . Continue Reading »

A research team at Hebrew University in Israel has developed a computer program that can recognize sarcasm with about 77 percent accuracy : To create such an algorithm, the team scanned 66,000 Amazon.com product reviews, with three different human annotators tagging sentences for sarcasm. The team . . . . Continue Reading »

So Richard Blumenthal, attorney general of leading Democratic candidate for Senate, lied about serving in Vietnam . As a veteran I suppose I should be outraged that a fellow Marine would make such dishonest claims about serving in Vietnam. I do consider such attempts at deceipt sloppy and sad, . . . . Continue Reading »

In today’s On the Square, Wesley Smith discusses organ donation and presumed consent laws : [L]egislation (A-9865) just introduced by New York Assemblyman Richard Brodsky would turn the current approach for obtaining consent inside-out. Brodksy’s bill would require every applicant for a . . . . Continue Reading »

In Austria and France, some gay couples are trying to get the right to full marriage—while some heterosexuals are trying to get the right to “ half marriage ”: As the number of straight French couples opting for Pacs [domestic partnership agreements] has grown, the number of . . . . Continue Reading »

Patheos has a fascinating and frustrating interview with sociologist and historian of religion Rodney Stark. What is fascinating is everything Stark says in the interview, which is mostly about the Crusades. What is frustrating is trying to decide what to excerpt when the entire piece is so . . . . Continue Reading »