How did we come to wish each other not a happy, not a joyful, not a peaceful, but a merry Christmas? The greeting dates back to at least 1565, in which year the author of the Hereford Municipal Manuscript wrote “And thus I comytt you to god, who send you a mery Christmas . . . . Continue Reading »
Last week our nation commemorated the eightieth anniversary of the repeal of Prohibition, the most commonly cited lesson of which is: You cannot legislate morality. Though this has become part of popular history of the era, it’s exactly the wrong lesson to draw from it. . . . . Continue Reading »
This weekend, December 13-14 at the Pontifical Urbaniana University in Rome, the Religious Freedom Project of Georgetown University’s Berkley Center is hosting a conference on ” Christianity and Freedom: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives .” I will serve on two panels myself . . . . Continue Reading »
I started this series of reflections on Genesis by thinking about when Creation was not yet good : when the man is without the woman in Genesis 2, and when heaven is without the earth in Genesis 1 (when we do not hear the expected refrain, “And God was that it was good” on the second day). Now, . . . . Continue Reading »
Seeking a Saint in the Heart of a War Zone Beatriz Terrazas, The Rumpus Science and Non-Science in Educati0n Harvey C. Mansfield, New Atlantis The Inauthenticity of Christmas Carols Sean Morris, Humane Pursuits Is There Justice in Job? Joan Acocella, New Yorker Québec’s Secular Charter . . . . Continue Reading »
When I heard the rumors this fall, I have to confess, I dismissed them. And maybe it is only political posturing. But leading Turkish officials are actually talking about converting the famed Hagia Sophia in Istanbul back into a mosque. The Hagia Sophia, or Church of the Holy Wisdom, was built by . . . . Continue Reading »
An interview with our own Dr. Boli and his invented alter ego Christopher Bailey. For example: PETE: Dr. Boli, do have any words to describe your relationship with your persona, Chris Bailey? DR. BOLI: What bicentenarian gentleman would not wish to imagine himself, even if only for a moment, . . . . Continue Reading »
Happy Tuesday! Here’s what we have for you to read: Over at Postmodern Conservative , Carl Scott takes a dim view of Marco Rubio, and Peter Lawler expands on the Burke–Strauss conference. What Peter Leithart is reading about: the postmodern Prometheus, Calvin and Zwingli , Luther and . . . . Continue Reading »
Stephen Webb objects to what he describes as my “apophatic” view of the ascension. His objection is that I mishandle the continuity–discontinuity dialectic by denying spatiality or “real place” to the ascended Lord. He might just as well have said that I deny “real . . . . Continue Reading »
Subscribe
Latest Issue
Support First Things
