Support First Things by turning your adblocker off or by making a  donation. Thanks!

Helping Mideast Christians

From First Thoughts

Last week, Robert P. George and Katrina Lantos Swett, the chair and vice-chair, respectively, of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, published an important op-ed on the persecution of Mideast Christians. This topic receives far too little attention, for reasons I’ve . . . . Continue Reading »

Yasukuni and Nice Distinctions

From First Thoughts

Last week, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe fulfilled an oft-repeated wish to visit Tokyo’s Yasukuni Shrine while in office. In Shinto belief, the shrine houses the souls of millions who died in the service of the Japanese Empire. Abe has expressed regret that he did not visit the shrine during . . . . Continue Reading »

The Massacre of the Innocents

From First Thoughts

[caption id=”” align=”alignnone” width=”460”] Photo from The Guardian [/caption] From the   New York Times  this Christmas morning: At least 26 people were killed and 38 others wounded on Wednesday when a car bomb exploded in a parking lot near St. . . . . Continue Reading »

Religious Knowledge Quiz

From First Thoughts

Relatives staying too long? Christmas tree lights breaking out of the box? Johnny Mathis starting to get on your nerves? If you need a break from all the holiday cheer, take the  US Religious Knowledge Quiz , sponsored by Pew. Afterwards, you can look up the results of the actual survey . . . . Continue Reading »