First Thoughts

Putin and the Pope

Whatever his motives, Putin has focused on the suffering of Christians as Christians, and that is something many leaders in the West are apparently reluctant to do. Continue Reading »

I Wanna Be Like Mike (Rowe)

TV host Mike Rowe proves you can be be civil, witty, and intelligent when responding to things you disagree with on the Internet. Continue Reading »

Can You Support First Things?

Dear Reader,We've launched our spring fundraising campaign. Some of you have received letters from me asking for your support. That's been a great way to reach our regular readers, but some connect with us the way I'm doing so right now—by way bits and bites. Thus my electronic solicitation. Our . . . . Continue Reading »

A Day Late, A Dollar Short

Tony Campolo has come out in favor of gay marriage. Continue Reading »

Kalief Browder and Black Suicide

Why the suicide rate of black children is on the rise. Continue Reading »

First Links—6.9.15

Choosing a Path in the World
Peggy Noonan, Wall Street Journal

New Churches, Old Europe
Philip Jenkins, Christian Century

Formed by War
Annalaura Montgomery Chuang, Christianity Today

Love & Mercy: A Refreshing Biopic on Brian Wilson
Wes Jakacki, Books and Culture

Founding Pastor

In 1775, a group of American soldiers raided George Whitefield’s five-year-old grave in Newbury, Massachusetts. Hoping that his relics would secure their protection in battle, they extracted a clerical collar and wristbands from the ­celebrated preacher’s remains and divided the cloth among themselves. The staunchly Protestant Whitefield no doubt rolled in his grave when they returned him to his resting place. Continue Reading »

The Double-Edged Sword of Sentimentalism

At the March for Life this past January, I saw a teenage girl holding a sign that read, “She could be the next Beyoncé!” the “she” referring, of course, to the baby inside the womb. Her sign reminded me of the quirky movie, Juno, in which the protagonist, a young teenager, decides not to . . . . Continue Reading »

First Links—6.8.15

Clues to the Encyclical II: A Long Tradition of Papal Teaching on Social, Economic, and Political Matters
Vincent J. Miller, America

God: She, He, or Gender Fluid?
Sean Curnyn, The Cinch Review

Rethinking Sex Ed in the Church
Cameron Cole, The Gospel Coalition 

Ding Dong, the Witch is Dead: A Pastor's Response to the Death of a Childhood Abuser
Mez McConnell, 20Schemes.com

Why Some Refuse Even to Anesthetize the Unborn

Can we ever achieve consensus on divisive social issues? The just-concluded session of the Montana Legislature sent Governor Steve Bullock the “Montana Unborn Child Pain and Suffering Prevention Act” (HB 479), which would have set the anesthetization of any unborn child twenty weeks gestation or . . . . Continue Reading »