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

Christian morality, torture, and embryos

From Web Exclusives

It hasn’t received that much coverage over here, but a recent Guardian editorial raised the possibility that the intelligence used to break up the terror plot in London was obtained, at least in part, by Pakistani torturers. This has already led some anti-torture voices to call into question . . . . Continue Reading »

Ole Anthony and the Trinity Foundation

From Web Exclusives

Over at his Crunchy Con blog, Rod Dreher links to an interesting investigative piece on the world of Ole Anthony, the ascetic Texan who runs a Christian commune called the Trinity Foundation in Dallas and serves as a self-appointed watchdog for the excesses of televangelists. Journalists tend to . . . . Continue Reading »

Ross Douthat: Israel and Lebanon

From Web Exclusives

I generally agree with the comments so far emphasizing Israel’s right to defend itself, the necessity of using force against evil men, and the danger of applying “turn-the-other-cheek” logic to affairs of state. (As Robert T. Miller rightly points out, governments are not human . . . . Continue Reading »

RD: Culpable ignorance

From Web Exclusives

Responding to my doubts about the prudence of recent war making (the United States in Iraq, Israel in Lebanon), Jody points out ¯ quite rightly¯that nobody can know to a precise degree of certainty whether a war will be successful before it is waged, and that blunders in the course of a . . . . Continue Reading »