Support First Things by turning your adblocker off or by making a  donation. Thanks!

Benedict XVI and the State of Israel

May 14 is Israel’s Independence Day (celebrated according to the Jewish rather than the Gregorian calendar), recalling the declaration of the State of Israel in 1948. For Palestinian Arabs the following day, May 15, is a day of mourning, “Disaster ( Naqba ) Day.” It has gone . . . . Continue Reading »

For Christ and For the World

A nice treat came in the mail a couple of days ago: David Hart’s new book, Atheist Delusions: The Christian Revolution and Its Fashionable Enemies (Yale Press). I’m a complete sucker for the great avalanches of Hart’s long, elegant Ciceronian sentences. And his take-no-prisoners . . . . Continue Reading »

Christianity and Feminism: Oil and Water?

There were feminists prior to the early twentieth century, that is, before women’s suffrage. This may come as a surprise, and indeed, very little is known about these earlier feminists beyond the work of a few scholars. Nevertheless, there were women philosophers throughout Europe who were busy . . . . Continue Reading »

Notre Dame’s Faustian Bargain

My younger son will be graduating from the University of Notre Dame in May. Last Friday, he informed me that President Obama will be giving the commencement speech and will be awarded an honorary degree. I was, frankly, stunned. The joyful event of our son’s graduation has now been . . . . Continue Reading »

Britain’s Naked Public Square

A series of high-profile legal battles and workplace rulings during the past several months has kept Christianity, or its lack, in the headlines in Great Britain. Rowan Williams, the archbishop of Canterbury, caused outrage last year when he suggested that Shari’a law might replace British . . . . Continue Reading »

Tributes to Fr. Richard John Neuhaus

The April issue of First Things is now on sale¯a set of tributes and memorials that mark the death of the magazine’s founder, Richard John Neuhaus. Among the many fine pieces is Fr. Neuhaus’ unpublished essay, ” The One True Church ,” together with reviews of Fr. . . . . Continue Reading »

Young and Irresponsible

A couple of years ago Richard disliked something I had written and chided me for it in “The Public Square.” He began: “Richard J. Mouw and I have been friends since we were both young and irresponsible.” There was more than a little hint there that he thought that at least . . . . Continue Reading »

The Sledgehammer of Modernism

Massive concrete buildings, post-war housing projects, highways torn through old neighborhoods¯so much of the ugliness we take for granted in our cities testifies to influence of Le Corbusier. Born in 1887 as Charles-Edouard Jeanneret, the thin, intense young man from a provincial Swiss . . . . Continue Reading »

Tags

Loading...

Filter Web Exclusive Articles