During the final meeting of the semester in my introductory-level courses I always read aloud to my students Matthew 20:20-28, which tells of the outrageous request made by the mother of James and John to Jesus that he give her two sons the highest places of honour in his kingdom. This, of course, . . . . Continue Reading »
“Change your thoughts and you change your world.” These words from one of mid-century America’s best-known preachers, Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, still resonate with those who are taken with the modern gospel of self-help that he popularized in his most famous work, The Power of . . . . Continue Reading »
I suspect I am not alone in admitting that I was initially uncomfortable at the thought of seeing the Book of Genesis depicted in a comic strip—or, as it is commonly called today, a “graphic novel.” Scripture shouldn’t be dumbed down, and the Bible should shed light on our . . . . Continue Reading »
Okay, this is getting ridiculous. First, the claims by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) that the world’s glaciers were melting so fast that those in the Himalayas could vanish by 2035 turned out not to have been peer-reviewed . Then it was discovered that the report wrongly . . . . Continue Reading »
In an interview with ABC’s “World News” anchor Diane Sawyer, President Obama said , “I’d rather be a really good one-term president than a mediocre two-term president.” I’ll leave the witty retorts to others ( Keep doing what you’re doing, champ. . . . . Continue Reading »
Ted Genoways, editor of the Virginia Literary Quarterly, notes that the supply of short fiction far exceeds the demand : Here at VQR we currently have more than ten times as many submitters each year as we have subscribers. And there’s very, very little overlap. We know—we’ve . . . . Continue Reading »
I was asked by First Things to write an “On the Square” essay about the awful comments by the novelist Martin Amis, who yearned for “euthanasia boxes” to be placed on every corner to do away with the “stinking” elderly. I did. From my piece, . . . . Continue Reading »
So Marc Guerra (America’s leading theologian) and I are finalists for a big SCIENCE OF VIRTUE grant at the University of Chicago. Although I doubt we’ll win, we deserve to win. That’s because we alone are defending the one true “stuck with virtue” science of virtue. . . . . Continue Reading »
When confronted with an absurd conspiracy theory, a rational personal often precedes through three stages: (1) dismissal (“No one can believe anything that ridiculous.”), incredulity (“I can’t believe people are buying this nonsense.”), and despair (“Will someone . . . . Continue Reading »
Whenever I worry what I would do if I was ever sent to prison, I take comfort in the idea that I could while away the time the way I did in my mispent youth: playing Dungeons & Dragons . So much for that plan. According to Ilya Somin at The Volokh Conspiracy : In a decision issued today the 7th . . . . Continue Reading »
Subscribe
Latest Issue
Support First Things
