Matthew Schmitz

Isaac Chotiner hasn’t spent much time talking to religious folks, and he hasn’t read David Bentley Hart’s The Experience of God: Being, Consciousness, Bliss, but he does think the book’s picture of God differs vastly from that of most believers:I cannot speak for . . . . Continue Reading »

How did we come to wish each other  not a happy, not a joyful, not a peaceful, but a merry Christmas?  The greeting dates back to at least 1565, in which year the author of the  Hereford Municipal Manuscript  wrote “And thus I comytt you to god, who send you a mery Christmas . . . . Continue Reading »

One of the popular indicators of the supposed war on Christmas is the use of the abbreviation  Xmas . The well motivated, if grating, “Don’t take Christ out of Christmas” alludes not so subtly to the abbreviation. The former Anglican bishop of Blackburn, Alan Chesters,  . . . . Continue Reading »

An abortionist—-excuse me, I mean a women’s health practitioner—- leaves a woman bleeding on the table after she rejects a price increase : On Monday afternoon (October 14) Wu Zhaoqun, 18, went to the Yinshan Clinic in Dongguan’s Qingxi Town to get an abortion. Before the . . . . Continue Reading »

In response to Pope Francis’ latest interview, I urged people not to read Francis’ words too closely: After two recent interview with  La Repubblica  and  La Civiltà Cattolica , it has become clear that the dialogue he desires will be informal and . . . . Continue Reading »

“When leaders in various fields ask me for advice, my response is always the same: dialogue, dialogue, dialogue.” So Pope Francis  said  during his visit to Brazil in the first days of his papacy. After two recent interview with La Repubblica and La Civiltà Cattolica . . . . Continue Reading »

Andrew Sullivan calls me a reactionary and legalist (he is only half right) and describes Pope Benedict as “a fabulous flurry of fabric and jewellery,” about which he is altogether wrong. Sullivan’s statement is typical of the belief that Pope Benedict has an inappropriate love . . . . Continue Reading »

In a widely covered interview , Pope Francis asked Catholics to stop speaking out on abortion, contraception, and gay marriage. This signaled a wholesale change in the Church’s stance toward the world, an opening of windows to let in the air, a banishment from the religious sphere of any . . . . Continue Reading »

Approval ratings remain high for the Bishop of Rome, Vicar of Jesus Christ, Successor of the Prince of the Apostles, Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church, Primate of Italy, Archbishop and Metropolitan of the Roman Province, Sovereign of the Vatican City State, Servant of the servants of God, . . . . Continue Reading »

Today on Twitter Books & Culture editor John Wilson announced that the magazine faces a $110,000 shortfall it must raise in the next three days—-or shut down at year’s end. [ View the story “Books & Culture Calls for Support, May Shut Down” on Storify ] Books & . . . . Continue Reading »