R.R. Reno is editor of First Things.
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R. R. Reno
First Thoughts Articles
A Creepy Feeling
The National Conference of Catholic Bishops has released the Labor Day Statement by Bishop William F. Murphy, the Chairman of the Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development. No breaking news, just some well-meaning sentiments and reasonably sound observations. For example, Bishop Murphy . . . . Continue Reading »
College and Conservatism
Last week Insider Higher Education offered a helpful summary of a new study that dug down a bit into the culture of higher education to see how conservative students survive and thrive . The study found that students at an elite liberal arts college tended to have positive experiences, even though . . . . Continue Reading »
A New Appointment
King’s College is an undergraduate institution in Manhattan. Revitalized by Campus Crusade a decade or so ago, it was moved to the Empire State Building. The college was meant to bring Christ to Babylon, and to bring Christian students into the hurley-burley of a global city. Today . . . . Continue Reading »
The Need for Civility
R. J. Snell, philosophy professor at Eastern University, posted an interesting essay today on The Public Discourse: “ Universities and the Graciousness of Being .” In the main, Snell wants to draw attention to the important role that good manners play in social life. At a minimum, like . . . . Continue Reading »
China and the Future
After the accountants tallied up their figures, Chinese GDP surpassed Japan’s in the second quarter of this year. No surprises there. The torrid growth of the Chinese economy over the last two decades has made this milestone inevitable. The population of China is ten times greater than that . . . . Continue Reading »
What Art Says About Life
Cezanne, Matisse, Monet, Picasso—the impressionist and post-impressionist painters bring in the big crowds at the museums. Van Gogh posters have had a fifty-year run as best sellers. What explains the enduring popularity of the largely French art that, in its day, was seen as shocking and . . . . Continue Reading »
Policing Theology
As is the case in so many other countries, the Australian government is revisiting the question of higher education. The United States isn’t all that different. We’re worried about how to finance our gigantic system, and we’re concerned about how to ensure that various . . . . Continue Reading »
Bishops Aren’t Coaches or Corporate CEOs
This week we learned that the Pope will not accept the resignation of two Irish auxiliary bishops, Eamonn Walsh and Raymond Field. The Murphy Report in 2009 implicated them in the larger failures of the Irish hierarchy to respond to sexual abuse by priest. John Allen at the National Catholic . . . . Continue Reading »
Marriage Natural and Supernatural
There tends to be confusion in some responses to the recent decision to overturn Proposition 8 in California. On the one hand, defenders of traditional marriage often point to natural law, or if not natural law, at least a common wisdom about the natural purposes of marriage—a disciplining . . . . Continue Reading »
Moral Fundamentalism Run Amok
In the last few days, various human rights organizations have criticized the Wikileaks posting of thousands of secret documents about U.S. operations in Afghanistan. Amnesty International and others point out something that should have been obvious to Julian Assange, the founder of Wikileaks. Many . . . . Continue Reading »
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