Joe Carter

“I paint the way some people write their autobiography.” - Pablo Picasso “Picasso’s life was, in a very real sense, the twentieth century’s own biography.” - Arianna Huffington Shortly after the end of World War II, Ernest Hemingway was traveling through Paris and attempted to visit his . . . . Continue Reading »

The Nelson-Hatch amendment, which would prohibit the use of Federal funds for abortions in the health care legislation, was defeated in the Senate yesterday by a vote of 54-45. According to the official roll , two Republicans voted against the amendment (Collins and Snowe, both of Maine) while six . . . . Continue Reading »

Frequent First Things ’ contributor Matthew Milliner claims that David Bentley Hart, a contributing writer for FT, has written the ” theological book of the decade “: Hart’s 2003 tome [ The Beauty of the Infinite ] was the theological book of the decade, a postmodern elegy, . . . . Continue Reading »

When I saw the headline— New Study Reveals Most Children Unrepentant Sociopaths —I assumed that social scientists were once again wasting taxpayer dollars doing research to confirm what we already know. But then I saw that it was from The Onion and realized that it was meant to be . . . . Continue Reading »

On his blog at the New York Times , Ross Douthat responds to David Goldman’s criticism: In a peculiar outburst, David Goldman of First Things (a.k.a. the pseudonymous blogger Spengler) accuses me of hoping that “Islam will save us from secularism,” and of “flirting . . . . Continue Reading »

Jordan Ballor has an intriguing post on “the relationship between the church’s approach to charity and the creation of the welfare state” as discussed in Lester DeKoster and Gerard Berghoef 1980 book, The Deacons Handbook: A Manual of Stewardship : DeKoster and Berghoef argue in . . . . Continue Reading »

In a discussion with a pair of reporters, MSNBC’s Chris Matthews raises an important question about the ubiquitous practice of politicians taking credit for work that they didn’t write themselves: Does it bother the press that somebody comes in whose book was written for them . . . . . . . Continue Reading »

At Uncommon Knowledge, Peter Robinson has the first of a five part interview with historian and literary critic René Girard. “To read René Girard,” wrote Edward T. Oakes , “is to want to slap one’s forehead and say, ‘Of course, why didn’t I think of . . . . Continue Reading »

The mathematical field of topology—the study of qualitative properties of certain objects that are invariant under certain kind of transformations—has fascinated me ever since I heard the joke that topologists can’t tell the coffee cup from which they are drinking from the doughnut . . . . Continue Reading »

Over on the Spengler blog, David Goldman unloads on my buddy Ross Douthat. Sad that the dumbest thing I’ve read in the New York Times for years came from the blog of Ross Douthat, the Catholic conservative voice at the Gray Lady . . . Ouch. Read the rest . . . . . Continue Reading »