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Anthony Sacramone
First Thoughts Articles
Just What We Needed. Another Protestant Denomination.
And so, a new Christian denomination prepares to shed its caul and come wailing into the world—the NALC, which, upon first Google, I took to be the National Association of Letter Carriers . Fair enough; a goodly portion of the New Testament is composed of epistles, and so an . . . . Continue Reading »
Man Does Not Live by Missionary Alone
Never let it be said that too much water has passed under the bridge, nor too much missionary under the Hollandaise, for the grand and glorious act of confession to affect reconciliation, both on the vertical and horizontal planes . In the 1830s, the Reverend John Williams was the most famous . . . . Continue Reading »
It’s About Imputation
What is an evangelical? In a word: imputation. If there is one animating idea that separates evangelicals most precisely from Catholic, Orthodox, and mainline Christians, and from the rest of the world’s religions, needless to say, it’s that Christ’s righteousness is imputed, not . . . . Continue Reading »
Lewis & Tolkien: Together Again
So one Steven A. Beebe, professor of communications at Texas State University–San Marcos, was rummaging through C.S. Lewis’ original manuscripts in the Bodleian Library, Oxford, when he came across a fragment . Not just any tidbit or afterthought but what the good professor came to . . . . Continue Reading »
Help Us, Obi-Wan Kenobi, the Discount Expires Today
Speaking of Star Wars , Joe, Tesco’s, a retail chain in Britain roughly comparable to a mini Wal-Mart here in the States, wants people who enter their premises to reveal their identity, presumably so a store manager can ID anyone running out the door with that box of Weetabix under his arm. . . . . Continue Reading »
You, Too, Can Write a Bestseller
Dan Brown, who is to history what Rasputin was to anti-coagulant therapy, has a new book out. But you knew that. Everyone knew that. Because it sold a million trillion copies in four minutes. It’s called The Lost Symbol and marks the return of Robert Langdon, symbologist (a degree now . . . . Continue Reading »
Of Wolves, Warriors, and Walker
Anyone who has read my stuff in the past knows I’m not a fan of the fantasy genre . The minute I see that any story features dwarfs gamboling in the heath, guys in pointy hats wielding black magic (be they wizards or bishops), unicorns, faeries, glow-in-the-dark rings, quibbles, certified . . . . Continue Reading »
St. Augustine, Tertullian, and Jean-Claude Van Damme. Again
I know that most Readers of First Things have a huge stockpile of Jean-Claude Van Damme films. There’s nothing to be ashamed of here. We can speak frankly about such intimate matters. This blog is a safe space to confess, to come clean. And spare me the whole Chariots of Fire, Man for All . . . . Continue Reading »
On Cures and Coercion
So Scientology is on trial again—this time in France, and this time for fraud. It seems that a woman who took a free “personality test” was then sold a bill of goods in the form of vitamins, books, and dubious “cures” for psychological problems—to the tune of . . . . Continue Reading »
Is It Real, or Is It Michelangelo Lite?
So the Italian government has forked over $4 million to buy what it believes to be an original Michelangelo —a 16” wooden image of the crucified Christ. It’s currently on display in Naples, but critics say it’s a phony: “When it comes to this statue, it is like . . . . Continue Reading »
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