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Passivity and Freedom
Ingolf Dalferth thinks we are Creatures of Possibility. By that, he means that “we are creatures in…
The State after ‘68
According to Pierre Manent (Beyond Radical Secularism), May 1968 marked a critical turning point in the political…
On Separating Church and State
Separation of church and state, religion and politics, is not “sufficient unto itself,” argues Pierre Manent (Beyond…
Architecture of Fancy
The title essay of John Summerson’s Heavenly Mansions sets Gothic architecture in a story of the architecture…
Slow Grow
In his Rise and Fall of American Growth, Robert J. Gordon argues that the growth rates for…
Anthropology of Deficiency
According to Ingolf Dalferth (Creatures of Possibility), Christianity “contradicts a view that understands human beings in their…
Passive Creativity
Christian theology has long taught that we are “finite copies of the infinite Creator: created creators” (Dalferth,…
Slackers
It’s a challenge to get a clear idea of what slackers are really all about. Tom Lutz…
Living Sacrifices
Joseph Ratzinger reflects on Romans 12:1-2 in his Theology of the Liturgy (349-51), which is evident in…
Allotments
1 Chronicles 23–27 describes the distribution of responsibilities for the house of Yahweh (chs. 23–26) and the…
Descartes, Nihilist
In her After Writing, Catherine Pickstock argues that the Cartesian Cogito is grounded in a Cartesian ontology,…
Art, Divine and Human
According to Jean-Louis Chretien (Hand to Hand), the notion of God as divine artist and of the…
The Peace Treaty
I met a woman my age at the local rock climbing gym. Articulate, well-educated, and professionally successful,…
Saint Valentine, Martyr
Recently I read a skeptic’s claim that medieval monks invented St. Valentine’s Day. This account is an…
Life on the Line in Ireland
On this episode of the First Things Podcast: Associate editor Julia Yost talks with Senator Rónán Mullen…
