R.R. Reno is editor of First Things.

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Who Defines Extremism?

Alternet.org functions as the Mother Jones of the internet, providing Lefties with Lefty content. Fair enough. But a recent article by Tana Geneva that gives a brief overview of the political and cultural view of Nevada GOP senate nominee Sharron Angle reflects an unfortunate tendency on the Left, . . . . Continue Reading »

1 Jul 2010

Postmodern Sex

When I was reading this story about a bisexual husband, I was tempted to get all worked up about our therapeutic culture of infinite inclusion. But I couldn’t get past this quote from his wife, commenting on her own thoughts about his sexual orientation, which she’s not . . . . Continue Reading »

30 Jun 2010

Eco-Evangelicalism

Over the years I’ve observed churches succumbing to the temptation to wrap the ordinary duties of life in the shiney foil wrapping paper of high theology. That seems to be the case with the Southern Baptist Convention. The NPR website gleefully reports that a couple of weeks ago the SBC . . . . Continue Reading »

30 Jun 2010

More on the Witch Hunt in Belgium

One of our informed readers—and our readers are thankfully not only informed but also forthright—corrected me yesterday. It’s not the case that the Belgian police went around pulling bones out of crypts. No, they drilled a hole to insert a fiber optic cable. Point taken. But this . . . . Continue Reading »

29 Jun 2010

WASP Decline

Knowing my background, a friend recently sent me a column from the New York Times . Written by Harvard Law professor Noah Feldman, the article provides a short reflection on the decline of WASP dominance—a decline much commented upon in the aftermath of Elena Kagan’s nomination to the . . . . Continue Reading »

28 Jun 2010

More on the Belgian Church

Michael Liccione added a link to his comments about the recent police raid on the Catholic Church offices (and episcopal crypts!) in Belgium. His  posting provides helpful background. Moreover, Liccione makes the persuasive observation that the mainstream media has tended to give a . . . . Continue Reading »

28 Jun 2010

Witch Hunt

Am I the only person astonished by the latest round in the now long simmering sex abuse scandal in the Catholic Church in Europe? Belgian police have taken to raiding offices and—I’m not making this up—opening the tombs of former archbishops . Digging up dead clerics? . . . . Continue Reading »

28 Jun 2010

Troubles in the Academy

In the current issue of the Biblical Archeological Review , Professor Ronald S. Hendel announces his departure from the venerable scholarly organization that publishes the journal, The Society of Biblical Literature . The reason? Basically, he thinks that the SBL is being taken over by . . . . Continue Reading »

25 Jun 2010

The Right to Worship Compromised

Jonathan Perfetto is a person convicted of possessing child pornography who is on probation. He wants to go to church. Seems like a good idea, a sign of repentance and amendment of life. Problem: Perfetto’s terms of probation prohibit him from having contact with children under the age of 16. . . . . Continue Reading »

22 Jun 2010

Fake Soccer Fans

OK, there’s just something about the World Cup that keeps me coming back, even though I’m not a fan.  Check out this teaser story about (alleged!) North Korean soccer fans. Have they been specially recruited?  Is North Korea orchestrating a Potemkin village of . . . . Continue Reading »

21 Jun 2010