Christians, and Christian societies, honour dead bodies, because Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, had one.
We do not abuse the dead.
We do not kick corpses.
Traditional Christians do not encourage cremation.
President Obama made the right call to take out bin Laden, the right call to end torture of prisoners, and was right not to release the bin Laden photograph.
No person who doubts bin Laden’s death will be convinced by a photograph released by the American government. Photos are easily doctored and if both American political parties are lying about the DNA evidence, they will lie about a picture.
Terrorists forced Americans to see evil on 9/11, but our government will not return the favour by showing us the dead body of our foe. We are better than the terrorists. We are civilised.
bin Laden is dead. Nothing is to be gained by flaunting his remains. Justice does not demand revenge, gloating, or cruelty to the bin Laden family. Their evil son, father, and husband has received justice. Let it end at that.
Dear Reader,
Can I be direct with you?
War abroad. Socialists on the rise. AI upending human life. Endless uproar online. The modern attention economy doesn’t want readers — it wants users enslaved to the tyranny of the present.
First Things is the antidote: literary excellence, timeless truths, and a fixed point of reference in a culture that has lost its bearings.
But we can’t do it without readers like you.
Our goal: Raise $150,000 by November 1 to sustain First Things in the year ahead.
Your gift anchors readers in the permanent things.
Make your Fall Campaign gift now using the button below.
If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Giovanni Del Piero, Director of the Editor’s Circle, at gdelpiero@firstthings.com or 212-627-1985.
The Church in the Age of Therapy
In 1966, Philip Rieff wrote in The Triumph of the Therapeutic that “Religious man was born to…
Canada’s Deadliest Blind Spot
On September 20, the Daily Mail ran a story with the provocative headline, “Our 83-year-old Christian grandmother…
The Faithful Joy of Dolly Parton and Fulton Sheen
Dolly Parton and Fulton Sheen seem to have had little in common. She favored rhinestones; he wore…