Sudan largely dropped out of the news after the secession of South Sudan. Independence for South Sudan came on the heels of reduced conflict in Darfur and, earlier, the inward turn of the Islamist Al-Ingaz (or “Salvation”) regime. These events seemed to portend a turn for the better in Sudan. . . . . Continue Reading »
The Church of Antioch, a traditional bridge between cultures and nations, refuses to attend the Holy and Great Council—and not just because it objects to the council documents. Antioch is seeking to defend its territorial integrity against militant Islam and incursions by a sister church.
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If the sincere exchange of vows doesn’t make their marriage valid, what does? Must all sacramentally valid marriages resemble my friends', beginning only after a few years of theological study, during a Mass set to music by Mozart? Continue Reading »
Eastern Orthodoxy's first ecumenical council in over a millennium is at risk of being derailed at the last minute. Catholics may find some of the issues rather familiar. Continue Reading »
You may have read Randy Boyagoda’s fine biography of Richard John Neuhaus, our fearless founder. You may know that First Things was begun in 1990 to explore questions of religion and society in the English-speaking world, and that the print journal comes out ten times a year. You might even have . . . . Continue Reading »
The Seer opens with a blur of urban lights and longings: the faster freeway, the taller building, the machines that become the objects of our affections. Over this, the film’s subject, in his distinctive timbre, laments the pursuit of “the objective.” These opening three minutes culminate in . . . . Continue Reading »
There are two groups of people who say that religious people are obliged to hate and kill gays: salafists and secular liberals. Neither recognizes the possibility of a faith premised on the love of sinners. Continue Reading »
“It is undeniable that religion informs public life, and we need to regain a sense of the ways in which this dynamic operates.” I scribbled these words in my Moleskine. Continue Reading »