From the abstract of Pinkovskiy and Sala?i?Martin’s working paper ” African Poverty is Falling . . . Much Faster than You Think! ” (PDF): The conventional wisdom that Africa is not reducing poverty is wrong. Using the methodology of Pinkovskiy and Sala?i?Martin (2009), we estimate . . . . Continue Reading »
The most oft broken vow by Christians, says theologian Carl Trueman , isn’t marital vows to remain faithful, ministerial vows to preach the gospel, or baptismal vows to raise children in the fear and nurture of the Lord: No. The most broken vow is almost certainly that by which church . . . . Continue Reading »
I have always thought that every academic–or wannabe, like me–ought have one or two hypotheses that are held very loosely, are somewhat defensible but impossible to prove, and just fringe enough to make academic parties interesting. One such hypothesis that I have occasionally advanced is that . . . . Continue Reading »
First, go read the great symposium at The New Atlantis , starring Pomocon’s own Peter & Ivan plus the good Professor Deneen. Then, go read this grim report at the Washington Monthly . . . . . Continue Reading »
Conservatives probably shouldnt have a favorite Marxist literary critic, but Terry Eagleton is mine. (True, hes also the only Marxist literary critic Ive ever read but I suspect that even if I read others he’d retain the title.) Reading his Literary Theory convinced me that . . . . Continue Reading »
A guest post by Rev. Dr. Holger Sonntag. Since Dr. Sonntag is from Germany and very familiar with the ecclesiastical situation, I asked if he would have any thoughts on the resignation of Dr. Margot Käßmann, who was the head of the EKiD and the bishop of the largest territorial Lutheran . . . . Continue Reading »
I have often criticized politicized science here at SHS, that is, people who promote their ideology or beliefs in the guise of objective science. But I have high regard for science as a field and scientists as professionals. That is why it is very disheartening that the entirely . . . . Continue Reading »
The Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine is the seat of the bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New York and the worlds largest Gothic cathedral. The first stone was laid in 1892, but construction is not yet complete. The cathedral is a study in contrasts. The grounds stretch for three long . . . . Continue Reading »
March 2010 signifies First Things 20th Anniversary. To celebrate, weve compiled a cross-section of the magazine’s highlights from the last two decades. We had an embarrassment of riches to choose from, a reminder to all of us of the lasting significance of the magazines . . . . Continue Reading »
Ron Rosenbaum explains our fascination with tabloids : Tabloid stories are our equivalent of Old Testament admonitory allegories. Which may explain why liberal tabloids are rarely successful in the long term. Because, it seems, successful tabloids believe in sin. Ineradicable, original sin. The . . . . Continue Reading »