Wesley J. Smith

There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. (Revelation 21:4) Proselytizers for “transhumanism” claim that through the wonders of technology, you or your children will live forever. Not only that, but within decades you will be able to transform your body and consciousness into an infinite variety of designs and purpose … Continue Reading »

Pro-lifers continually pray for the reversal of Roe v. Wade. And with many on both sides of the abortion divide now agreeing that the decision is badly flawed, that could happen one day. But what if the overturn comes from the other direction? The potent possibility of a “reverse reversal” (if you will) hit me while listening to pro-life lawyers discuss the current status of abortion litigation … Continue Reading »

Scientists recently announced that they had successfully cloned human embryos for the first time, using the same process that produced Dolly the sheep. This news constitutes an ethical earthquake. Cloning is the essential technology in the development of a plethora of other unprecedented and morally dubious technologies … Continue Reading »

Americans have lost the art of honest debate. Perhaps better stated, we have thrown it away. Advocates on all sides of political and cultural spectrums cynically manipulate public opinion through focus group“tested obfuscating words and phrases rather than persuade through candid and accurate descriptions of advocacy agendas… . Continue Reading »

We are becoming a society in which “choice” and self-defined identities trump once-common values and traditional beliefs. But contrary to the rhetoric of its defenders, this shift is not a simple advance for freedom. The privileging of “choice” above all else in fact requires re-engineering the human person and society as a whole, and this will inevitably involve a great deal of coercion… . Continue Reading »

The forty-five-year-old twin brothers had not contracted a terminal illness. Nor were Marc and Eddy Verbessem in physical pain. Both had been born deaf and were progressively losing their eyesight. As the Telegraph reported, “The pair told doctors that they were unable to bear the thought of not . . . . Continue Reading »

Thanks to tremendous advances in biotechnological prowess, living human bodies”or rather their constituent parts and biological functions”are increasingly being looked upon as valuable commercial commodities. Human eggs (oocytes) are a prime example. Ounce for ounce, ova are surely the most valuable product in the world … Continue Reading »

When twenty children and six adults were gunned down at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, in December, it rightfully made huge news. Since the killings, the media have worked energetically to keep the atrocity front and center in the public consciousness”as a story still important in its own right, to be sure, but also as a way to lend support for gun control laws … Continue Reading »

Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) made national headlines last week when he flipped from opposing to supporting same-sex marriage. I found the whole thing disheartening”and not because of Portman’s new position; people of good will and heart come down on both sides of that controversy. No, it was the how and why of Portman’s switch that bummed me out… . Continue Reading »

Thirty years ago, who would have dreamed that a 490-page book by a Russian Orthodox monk would sweep Russia and sell millions of copies around the world? But that has been the deserved publishing history of Everyday Saints and Other Stories, recently translated into English… . Continue Reading »