Novels Against Marriage
by Matthew Lee AndersonIn light of Rhett Smith’s interesting (and true!) thoughts on what novels do for us, I was intrigued to read Francis Watsons rather critical comments of their form in western literature: The assumption that love (or romantic love) is the primary basis for . . . . Continue Reading »
Russell Moore on the Gospel and Adoption
by Justin TaylorHere’s a very good message from Russell Moore, author of Adopted for Life, from a conference devoted to the theme:More audio and video from the conference . . . . Continue Reading »
The Economics of Sainthood
by Joe CarterWant to be canonized as a saint? You may want to move to Italy: 46.7 percent of saints lived in that country at the time of their deaths. That is just one of the many interesting tidbits to be gleaned from Barro, McCleary, and McQuoid’s new paper, The Economics of Sainthood (a preliminary . . . . Continue Reading »
The Truth About the Crusades
by Joe CarterRobert Louis Wilken, a board member and frequent contributor of First Things , has a review in the Wall Street Journal of two new books on the Crusades: The recorded past and the remembered past are seldom the same. Nowhere is this more evident than with the Crusades. The Crusades were a belated . . . . Continue Reading »
Can You Remember Life Before .Com? The 25th Anniversary of the First .Com Domain Name Registration
by Paul T. McCainTwenty-five years ago the first .com Internet domain name was registered. Read the story here. How has our world changed as a result of the Internet? The good, the bad and the ugly. It’s all there/here/out there/on our computers for us to read, interact with, react to, live with, struggle . . . . Continue Reading »
Obama Is in More Trouble Over Iran Than Israel
by David P. GoldmanTrouble in US-Israeli relations is real, but is misrepresented in the press accounts. No-one—really, no-one—cares about the Palestinians. The tiff centers on Israel’s plans to attack Iran. And Obama may be in more trouble than Netanyahu.This week’s Spengler essay at Asia . . . . Continue Reading »
Should Organs Be Harvestable From ERs?
by Wesley J. SmithThe Washington Posthas a story about a pilot program to identify donatable organs from the cadvers of people who die in emergency rooms. From the story:Using a $321,000 grant from the Department of Health and Human Services, the emergency departments at the University of Pittsburgh Medical . . . . Continue Reading »
Undercutting the Bishops
by Joseph BottumThe American Catholic bishops sent a bulletin to parishes this weekend, urging Catholics to oppose the abortion funding provisions in the current version of the health-care. Unfortunately, Sister Carol Keehan, president of the Catholic Health Association, promptly endorsed the current bill: . . . . Continue Reading »
She is Not Alone
by Collin BrendemuehlOk, so my rant about Beth Moore was, well, imprecise. But there is one characteristic of Moore’s efforts that her critic missed, and it is one which is pervasive among many teachers. While in her case it dove-tailed very nicely with the word-faith approach, it expresses itself quite . . . . Continue Reading »
influential
journal of
religion and
public life Subscribe Latest Issue Support First Things