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In the World But Not of It

From First Thoughts

In this morning’s column , R.R. Reno describes a former pastor who has now parted ways with orthodox Church teaching: Half-a-dozen years before he administered to me the grace of full communion he came to serve as the pastor of St. John’s, the church on the Creighton University campus, . . . . Continue Reading »

Streaming the Ancient Faith

From First Thoughts

In this morning’s  On the Square , Wesley J. Smith testifies to his Orthodox Christianity: The Orthodox Catholic Church—as it is formally called—is the  second largest in the world  with about 300 million members. And while we remain almost microscopic in the United . . . . Continue Reading »

Fifty Shades of Nothing

From First Thoughts

In his  On the Square   this morning, Edward Feser tackles the questions of nothingness as they emerge in contemporary philosophy and theoretical physics: John Leslie and Robert Lawrence Kuhn have published  The Mystery of Existence: Why Is There Anything At All? , a very useful . . . . Continue Reading »

Against Flameless Candles

From First Thoughts

In his column , Kevin M. Clarke explains why he believes wax-and-wick candles matter for worship. In the ecclesial space, the ersatz glow beneath a sacred image feels more like a nod to sentimentality than a creation of an authentic prayer space. It is a spiritual turn-off. I light a candle because . . . . Continue Reading »

Where’s the Sin?

From First Thoughts

In today’s  On the Square , Nathaniel Peters examines the recent papal encyclical: ” Lumen Fidei  discusses faith as it relates to Scripture, salvation, reason, theology, the Sacraments, and society, all without much explicit mention of sin.” Yet Pope Francis does . . . . Continue Reading »

Five Myths About Pope Francis

From First Thoughts

In his  On the Square this morning, William Doino Jr. debunks five falsehoods and/or partial truths about Pope Francis: “Since the opening days of his papacy, a flood of commentators have come forth to tell us what to expect of him, only to miss the mark.” Doino concludes by . . . . Continue Reading »