American Politics
A selection of recent articles on this topic
Sex and Mysticism
Advice given to tourists in Scotland is equally applicable to contemporary academia: “If you don’t like the…
Prayer and Politics
Last Friday, on the Feast of the Triumph of the Cross (September 14), Pope Benedict’s motu proprio…
The Florentine Enigma
During the summer of 1502, the young Republic of Florence appeared fated to die as quickly as…
The Competence of Bishops, Once More
On July 31, I posted here ” A Respectful Word on Episcopal Competence .” Bishop Thomas Wenski…
Harry Potter and the Christian Critics
A curious teapot tempest of the sort one only finds in the hothouse of Extremely Earnest Conservative…
God and Imaginary Numbers
Impossible, irrational, delusionary, absurd, untrustworthy, fictitious, imaginary: You can’t read much about religion today without encountering these…
A Respectful Word on Episcopal Competence
The word competence has several meanings, most of which congregate around ability and authority . It is…
The October Issue Has Arrived
The October issue of First Things is out, at last. I’ve spent the morning browsing in it,…
Mother Teresa Remembered
The unfortunate publicity and distortions to the point of calumny that have surrounded the publication of the…
Education and Our Witness to Christ
G.K. Chesterton once described lunatics as people who have lost everything but their reason. What he meant…
Policemen of the World
In the October issue of First Things (which hits newsstands today), I draw attention to the powerfully…
The Pagan West
When it arrived in the world, Christianity announced the end of sacrifice. But in its growth over…
Do You Want to Know a Secret?
Astounded as I was by the phenomenal bestselling success of Rhonda Byrnes’ The Secret ¯gobsmacked by the…
Deciding When You Don’t Know for Sure
We are all uncertain about what God wants us to do. That is to say, we do…
The Last Stand of Rowan Williams
Summer is almost over, which for most of us means putting away the beach umbrella and suntan…