Gallup Poll Shows Cultural Divides on SHS Issues
by Wesley J. SmithGallup has a new poll out that measures the public’s beliefs about the moral propriety of certain behaviors. This is not the same thing, obviously, as to whether such policies should be legal. The following are the ones relevant to our discussions here: From the Poll:- Doctor . . . . Continue Reading »
Is Unleaded Gas Responsible for Reductions in Violent Crime?
by Joe CarterIn an examination of the possible causes for the recent (and unexpected) drop in crime, the esteemed criminologist James Q. Wilson includes this surprising suggestion : There may also be a medical reason for the decline in crime. For decades, doctors have known that children with lots of lead in . . . . Continue Reading »
The Differences Between Protestant and Catholic School Graduates
by Joe CarterA new study finds that graduates of Protestant Christian schools have different traits than those who attend Catholic and non-religious private schools: More Catholic school administrators ranked the university as the top priority, while more Protestant school administrators ranked family as the . . . . Continue Reading »
“Where’s Your Medicare Plan?” Anti Obama Attack as Futile as Picket’s Charge
by Wesley J. SmithMedicare is dying like a tree, slowly from the roots. As we Baby Boomers get ready to come on line (just three years and less than a month for me), the money is drying up, the status quo unsustainable, the supposed trust fund a fiction. Representative Ryan has put out a proposal that . . . . Continue Reading »
Hart Wins Ramsey Prize
by Joe CarterCongratulations to First Things contributing editor David Bentley Hart: The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, today awarded the 2011 Michael Ramsey prize to ‘Atheist Delusions’ by David Bentley Hart at a gala lunch at the Telegraph Hay festival. Speaking about the winning . . . . Continue Reading »
Americans Believe There Are More Homosexuals in the U.S. Than There Are Catholics
by Joe CarterLet’s take a survey: Are Americans (a) really bad at estimating, (b) really gullible, (c) both really gullible and really bad at estimating? After seeing the results of this Gallup survey , I think the answer is obvious: U.S. adults, on average, estimate that 25% of Americans are gay or . . . . Continue Reading »
Hell: temporary punishment?
by David T. KoyzisIn the wake of the controversy over Love Wins, someone recently suggested to me that perhaps hell is not eternal after all and that those sent there might one day complete their sentences, much as a prisoner serves for a certain period and is then released. It’s an intriguing and hopeful . . . . Continue Reading »
“Buy More” Children?
by Gayle Trotter“There is this free lunch of just stop doing things that you and your kid don’t enjoy, and it’s not going to change the future anyway, so relax. I would say to the Tiger Mom, that is a very strong piece of evidence against you that someone can raise a child in a way that you . . . . Continue Reading »
Carl’s Rock Songbook #5: U2, “New Year’s Day”
by Carl ScottOne night in early 1983, my teenaged-Christian-60s-obsessed-socialist/pacifist-leaning self heard this song on the radio. I had not heard U2 before, and I was thrilled. Here was a band politically committed in a way that smacked of the idealism of the 60s I had been reading about in library books, . . . . Continue Reading »
influential
journal of
religion and
public life
Subscribe
Latest Issue
Support First Things
Tags
