R. R. Reno

Some years ago David Brooks wrote a column, “Who’s John Stott?,” that challenged the parochialism of our secular elites. As Brooks observed, John Stott, unknown to nearly all New York Times readers may have been one of the most influential intellectuals of the second half of the . . . . Continue Reading »

It’s easy to see why gay activists invoke the civil-rights movement of the 1950s and early 1960s, and not just because it’s a handy way to take the moral high ground. It puts a large body of legal sanctions, an expansive bureaucratic power, and a well-established tradition of social censure . . . . Continue Reading »

When Representative Paul Ryan said that his recently released budget proposal was developed in accord with his understanding of Catholic social doctrine, the liberal Catholic establishment reacted with outrage. Ryan was scheduled to talk at Georgetown, and the ever-reliable Fr. Thomas J. Reese, S.J., and others have organized a letter of protest. “Our problem with Representative Ryan,” Reese told reporters, “is that he claims his budget is based on Catholic social teaching. This is nonsense.” … Continue Reading »

The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life has posted a slide-show presentation of changes in support for same-sex marriage. There’s no new news here. Rising support for same-sex marriage has been widely reported. Not surprisingly, secularists are most supportive, religious people less . . . . Continue Reading »

For a very nice remembrance of Chuck Colson, see Timothy George’s piece in the National Catholic Register . Fitting that our baptist friend would remember an evangelical founder of Evangelicals and Catholics Together in a Catholic journal. . . . . Continue Reading »

Vatican watcher Rocco Palmo flags the Wednesday release of a four-year-long study of women religious. Even the most casual observer knows that many female orders are, well, in disorder. A particular virulent version of the post-Vatican II flu ran through various orders of nuns, and . . . . Continue Reading »

“Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” So wrote St. Paul to the Colossians, reminding them that if they have been raised with Christ, then they should direct their minds and their lives toward him. As I sat in the pew on Easter Sunday and listened to that passage for Colossians, I found myself wondering: Do I set my mind and life too much on things that are on earth? … Continue Reading »

In The Brothers Karamazov , the rationalist and unbelieving Ivan is visited by the devil, who lays out the moral consequences of atheism. After belief in God is extinguished, “man will be exalted with the spirit of divine, titanic pride, and the man-god will appear.” Of course few will have the . . . . Continue Reading »

Dear Friends, What you read on firstthings.com makes a difference. Today we face an increasingly hostile intellectual culture, one that presumes that faith undermines reason, and that religion creates conflict and hostility in society. Our goal is to demonstrate how wrong this prejudice is. We . . . . Continue Reading »

Dear Friends, What you read on firstthings.com makes a difference. Today we face an increasingly hostile intellectual culture, one that presumes that faith undermines reason, and that religion creates conflict and hostility in society. … Continue Reading »