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Matthew Schmitz is a former senior editor of First Things. 

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First Links — 1.6.12

From First Thoughts

The Fight over Bullying Laws Andy Sher, Chattanooga Times Free Press What Will You Tell Your Grandchildren? Luis Tellez, Public Discourse Christopher Hitchens’ Challenge to Catholics John Haldane, Catholic Herald Epiphany & the Persecution of Christ’s Faithful Leroy Huizenga, . . . . Continue Reading »

Archbishop Dolan to be Named a Cardinal

From First Thoughts

I had heard that a big announcement would be coming today for New York’s Catholics, and here it is: Archbishop Timothy Dolan is to receive the cardinal’s red hat. All our best wishes to Archbishop Dolan as he leads the New York church into the new year and, we hope, many more years to . . . . Continue Reading »

First Links — 1.5.12

From First Thoughts

Why Fight Same-Sex Marriage? Douglas Farrow, Touchstone Pharmacists’ Conscience Rights on Trial Ed Whelan , Bench Memos Gingrich, Desegregation, and Judicial Supremacy Joel Alicea, Public Discourse The Case Against Pepper Sara Dickerman, Slate The Front Porch Strikes Back Jerry Salyer, Front . . . . Continue Reading »

First Links — 1.4.12

From First Thoughts

Shift in Chinese Propaganda Emphasizes Two-Child Families Evan Osnos,  The New Yorker The Gift of the Guild Matthew Milliner, Millinerd Margaret Sanger’s Ideology of Control Angela Franks, Public Discourse How Luther Went Viral The Economist The Mother of Meaning: Connecting the Infant . . . . Continue Reading »

John Haldane on Michael Dummett

From First Thoughts

Writing in the Scotsman , John Haldane remembers recently deceased Catholic philosopher Michael Dummett: Between Christmas and New Year, Britain lost its greatest living philosopher. Sir Michael Dummett was 86 and he died at the home in Oxford which he had shared with his wife Ann for the last half . . . . Continue Reading »

First Links — 1.3.12

From First Thoughts

Arab Democracy Best Bet for Muslim Reformation Wall Street Journal , Matthew Kaminski Iowa’s “Uneducated Jesus Freaks” Get Religion , Mollie Ziegler Hemingway Leave the Christ in Christmas & the Lennon in Lennon CNN, Stephen Prothero 2011 in Charts The Economist Divorce Rate . . . . Continue Reading »

Missionaries of Democracy?

From First Thoughts

Walter Russell Mead asks whether the striking global growth of Christianity will lead to a growth in democracy: One interesting speculation: the push toward democracy in many countries has been led by Christian laypeople and religious organizations.  (That was not true 100 years ago; outside . . . . Continue Reading »

Why Christians Loved Christopher Hitchens

From First Thoughts

Christians are commanded to love all men, but Ross Douthat explains why they had a particular and surprising affection for one of their most unrelenting antagonists: American Christian intellectual life is sustained today, to a large extent, by the work of writers very much like Hitchens — by . . . . Continue Reading »

Antonio de Montesinos, 500 Years Later

From First Thoughts

500 years ago this Sunday, the Dominicans friars of the Spanish colony of Hispaniola called the Spanish colonists to repentance for their gross mistreatment of the native population. The stirring words of Antonio de Montesinos’ homily for Fourth Advent—-which shocked the unsuspecting . . . . Continue Reading »