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Smart Sex

From First Thoughts

Friday, February 29 Church of Our Saviour 59 Park Avenue New York City 6:00-8:00 PM There will be a lecture by Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse on her book Smart Sex . The lecture serves as a sort of prelude to the Archdiocese’s annual Respect Life Conference, which will be held the next day. For . . . . Continue Reading »

The Bells of Notre Dame

From First Thoughts

There’s an interesting article in today’s New York Times on the head sacristan of Notre Dame de Paris, who is also the cathedral’s head bell-ringer. A small sample: Notre-Dame has 11 bells. The four in the north tower were cast in 1856 to replace older ones that were melted down . . . . Continue Reading »

Re: The Drum Beats Louder

From First Thoughts

Ryan, you’re certainly right about one thing, namely my misuse of the term “rights.” I don’t actually believe that we have a right, under natural or constitutional law, to receive tax breaks for donations to non-profit organizations. My primary assertion was that the . . . . Continue Reading »

The Diplomacy of Religious Freedom

From First Thoughts

In the May 2006 issue of First Things , Thomas Farr argued that the US needed to pay attention to religion in its foreign policy decisions in order for those decisions to have any lasting effect: In other words, there is evidence that liberal democracy in religious cultures will not emerge without . . . . Continue Reading »

Music for Ash Wednesday

From First Thoughts

Lent is not especially known for its music, but Allegri’s Miserere captures the season’s grace, sorrow, and repentance better than any other. More information about the music can be found here , including a translation of the Vulgate text. The clip below contains all but one of the . . . . Continue Reading »

The Drum Beats Louder

From First Thoughts

Last week I wrote about what I perceived as the constant barrage of press against universities and colleges with large endowments: “These are rumors of war—of people building for an attack on private institutions with lots of money. I expect the drumbeat will grow louder.” . . . . Continue Reading »

InterVarsity Flirts with Catholicism

From First Thoughts

Every three years, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship , one of the nation’s largest evangelical student groups and part of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (IFES), hosts a missions conference called Urbana . The name came from the long-time host campus of the University of . . . . Continue Reading »

Wanted: National Motto

From First Thoughts

The US has “In God We Trust,” the French have “Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité,” but the British don’t have anything. And they seem to like it that way. Recently the Times of London sponsored a motto-writing contest, the winner . . . . Continue Reading »