Joe Carter

Want to glimpse a exhibit of futurism worthy of Epcot Center? Take a trip to your local supermarket : We are living in the future and we find it boring. The best place to gather evidence for this claim is the supermarket. To begin with, try and have a fresh look at the word: Supermarket , it is . . . . Continue Reading »

Do physics, neuroscience, evolutionary biology, and related fields of inquiry provide evidence for life after death? Dinesh D’Souza considers that question in his latest book . But as Joseph Bottum says in a review for National Review (sub. req.), D’Souza is out of his depth: Every once . . . . Continue Reading »

Writing in The Weekly Standard , my editor Joseph Bottum encourages us to listen to the peculiar, poetic language of Christmas: [T]here is something more in Advent than just the happenstantial activity of our nativity language, something more than the plain task of getting across a complex seasonal . . . . Continue Reading »

The New York Times has a lengthy profile of one of my intellectual heroes—Princeton professor and First Things advisory board member Robert George : For 20 years, George has operated largely out of public view at the intersection of academia, religion and politics. In the past 12 months, . . . . Continue Reading »

In the latest issue of Intelligent Life , the quarterly lifestyle and culture magazine from The Economist , Anthony Gottlieb claims that religious believers face a stumbling block in a sixty-five year old horticulture parable : In 1944 John Wisdom, an aptly named British philosopher, wrote a . . . . Continue Reading »

David Klinghoffer wonders what God had in mind bringing the Christian faith into the world: I happened to overhear recently when a friend of mine asked the poised young wife of a Chabad rabbi if her family celebrates Thanksgiving. In general, ultra-Orthodox Jews shy away from marking non-Jewish . . . . Continue Reading »

Great point, Rusty . Before the Baby-Boomer culture reset all the standards, even criminals were more serious and self-respecting, as can be seen in this collection of vintage police lineup photos . As Jason Toon says: These natty sharps never would’ve been caught dead in a soiled wifebeater, . . . . Continue Reading »

[Note: Every Friday on First Thoughts we host heated, half-serious, half-cocked arguments about some aspect of pop culture. Today’s theme, which was suggested by reader Don McClane, is the best newspaper comic strips. Have a suggestion for a topic? Send them to me at jcarter@firstthings.com ] . . . . Continue Reading »

Normally, I consider myself immune from the effects of advertising. But the new ad campaign by Dockers—” Man-ifesto “—makes me want to wrestle a bear, smack the eyeliner off some emo dude, and then go out and buy some pants: Once upon a time, men wore the pants, and wore them . . . . Continue Reading »

For a glimpse into the secret life of a First Things writer click over to this recently posted interview with R.R. Reno . . . . . Continue Reading »