There I was, quietly chuckling over Bryan Caplan and Robin Hanson’s back and forth (and forth ) on the reasonableness of cryonics, when somebody decided to bring Derek Parfit into things . Says Julian: In reality, our ordinary way of talking about this leads to a serious mistake that Robin . . . . Continue Reading »
You know: when most people get ready to write a little something for the Christmas season, they fire up the Yule log, and they have a little eggnog, and toss a little tinsel, and eat a cookie, and then they have this sweet smell on their breath as they talk about how joyful a season this . . . . Continue Reading »
A few weeks ago an editor from the Christian Science Monitor emailed to ask if I would consider writing an opinion piece on the doctrine of justification. This sounded unusual to say the least. First of all, why was he asking me? (Because a friend of mine passed along my name I found . . . . Continue Reading »
Really — where did they go?It used to be wrong to gamble. It violated the Christian work ethic.It used to be that a church would not accept gambling winnings as an offering. I wonder how many wink at it today.Heavy alcohol consumption is not blogged about. I wonder if it is . . . . Continue Reading »
We have long suspected it, and now a UN paper admits it: Radical environmentalism is being made into religion. From the story: Environmentalism should be regarded on the same level with religion “as the only compelling, value-based narrative available to humanity,” according to a paper . . . . Continue Reading »
I know a little boy who has developed some bad habits by reading funny books his father got him without thinking about the consequences of said little boy emulating the behavior of the main character.We don’t need to go into who the boy is or who his father is. Let’s just say I . . . . Continue Reading »
The tragic murders of four policeman in Washington State , quickly turned into a political story when it was discovered that former governor and Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee had previously commuted the sentence of the gunman, making him eligible for parole. Normally, I . . . . Continue Reading »
Climategate has revealed an ugly truth: Science and journalism have become so ideologically driven that both important professions are in danger of collapse of confidence. Latest example: The BBC had the Climategate e-mails and erected the news blockade rather than expose one of the biggest science . . . . Continue Reading »
My friend Stanley Carlson-Thies was for a long time associated with the Center for Public Justice in Annapolis, Maryland, and served in the Bush White House in 2001-2 in the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. Now he is leading the Institutional Religious Freedom Alliance (IRFA), whose . . . . Continue Reading »
Genetic determinism is a way of liberating us from free will and taking full responsibility for our actions. One would think that “my genes made me do it” defense would go no further than pleading, “The devil made me do it.” Alas, one would so hope in vain. . . . . Continue Reading »
Subscribe
Latest Issue
Support First Things
