First Thoughts

A Cheer for Greer (with a little help from Geoffrey and John)

When Germaine Greer is an object of protest for being too conservative, we are all in trouble. Continue Reading »

Historical Is Not Enough

Conservatives need to be careful that we do not confuse a love of the merely historical and traditional with a belief in the truth. Continue Reading »

First Links — 10.23.15

You’re Not Chesterton, And God’s Cool With That
David Mills, Aleteia

Feminists should cheer Paul Ryan for taking a stand for work-life balance
Dara Lind, Vox

Dear Synod Fathers: You Missed a Step
Helen Alvare, Crux

How to explain the KGB’s amazing success identifying CIA agents in the field?
Jonathan Haslam, Salon

Pimm's O'Clock
Rachael Dymski, Humane Pursuits

First Links — 10.22.15

On the Road with Dante
Karen Swallow Prior, Gospel Coalition

When Churches Get Burnt by the Offering: Should Ministries Return Stolen Donations?
Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra, Christianity Today

The Man Who Thought of Everything
Algis Valiunas, New Atlantis

Last Word with Farmer-Author Wendell Berry
Corby Kummer, Modern Farmer

Big in Iceland: Paganism
Uri Friedman, Atlantic

First Links — 10.21.15

The Strength of the Hills is Not Ours—Our Modern Identity Crisis
Jake Meador, Mere Orthodoxy

In Defense of Christendom
Bret Stephens, Wall Street Journal

Americans Aren't That Interested in Benghazi
Leah Libresco, Five Thirty Eight

Lecture Me, Really
Molly Worthen, New York Times

Shroud of London
Amy Henderson, Weekly Standard

Five Ways the Church Can Help Married and Engaged Couples

Sitting at a high-top table in Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia, just a few blocks away from Pope Francis and the World Meeting of Families, a young priest friend leaned in and asked me what I wish had been different about my marriage prep. “Having been through it recently, what would you . . . . Continue Reading »

First Links — 10.20.15

Saints, Accidentally
Julia Powers, Fare Forward

Benedict and Nothing
Rod Dreher, American Conservative

Love, Dad
David Desrosiers, City Journal

Holy Foolery
Ken Kalfus, New Yorker

Finding The Words for Faith: 
Christian Wiman is America's Most Important Christian Writer
Matthew Sitman, The Dish

First Links — 10.19.15

Confessions of a New Confessor
Fr. Gabriel Torretta, OP, Ethika Politika

Legalized Assisted Suicide Moves Us Scarily Close to Real-Life Horror Story
Russell Shaw, Aleteia

Playboy Goes Respectable: With Nudity Ubiquitous, a Porn Pioneer Covers Up
Matthew Schmitz, National Review

The Powerful, Unlikely Appeal of Modern Witchcraft—Even for a Skeptic
Alex Mar, NY Mag

A Mother Under Wraps
Eve Tushnet, American Conservative

The Value of First Things: Three Communications

I like First Things because it’s smart.” That’s what one journalist wrote to me awhile back. Before that, another one told me of a group of journalists and editors who pay close attention to . . . . Continue Reading »

First Links — 10.16.15

Mind the Gap: Neuroscience, Transhumanism, and Human Nature
William E. Carroll, Public Discourse

Discovering the Earliest Known Draft of the King James Bible
Jeffrey Alan Miller, Times Literary Supplement

Jafar Panahi's Remarkable Taxi
Richard Brody, New Yorker

Music, Memory, and the Death of St. Stan's
Rod Dreher, American Conservative

Michel Houellebecq, Casually Provocative
Rachel Donadio, New York Times