Becoming Christian

Frank Turk a while back offered that:so it should be no surprise when I say it here that I am sure there are Catholics who are saved, and likewise for the occasional Eastern Orthodoxwhich apparently still has my dander up ... as an Orthodox convert (from an American Protestant church) because this . . . . Continue Reading »

Hannah’s song, Mary’s Magnificat

It would take too long to list the myriad composers who have set to music the Magnificat of Mary, as found in Luke 1:46-55. J. S. Bach’s is perhaps the best known of the baroque settings, while, of the modern English-language versifications, Timothy Dudley-Smith’s Tell Out My Soul . . . . Continue Reading »

Best Television Shows of the 2000’s

[Note: Every Friday on First Thoughts we host heated, half-serious, half-cocked arguments about some aspect of pop culture. Today’s theme is the best television shows of the past ten years. Have a suggestion for a topic? Send them to me at jcarter@firstthings.com ] Over the past ten years . . . . Continue Reading »

The Dollar Defense

First Things senior editor David Goldman recently appeared on CNBC’s Larry Kudlow show to talk about the dollar, gold, interest rates, and unemployment. Part I (Goldman’s segment begins at the 8:09 mark.) Part II . . . . Continue Reading »

“A Very American Speech”

First Things editor Joseph Bottum appeared PBS Newshour with Jim Lehrer to discuss President Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize speech. As Joseph says, the speech was “incoherent” yet “a very American speech.” Watch the video or read the transcript on the PBS website. . . . . Continue Reading »

Why R.C. Sproul Refused

Prominent Calvinist theologian R.C. Sproul refused to sign the Manhattan Declaration on the grounds, he now explains , that it assumes that the Catholic Church preaches the gospel. Indeed, he explains, it was born of the same impulse that produced the various statements of Evangelicals and . . . . Continue Reading »