Matthew Schmitz

Walter Russell Mead asks whether the striking global growth of Christianity will lead to a growth in democracy: One interesting speculation: the push toward democracy in many countries has been led by Christian laypeople and religious organizations.  (That was not true 100 years ago; outside . . . . Continue Reading »

Over at the Gospel Coalition, Joe Carter explains what two radically different men share: There is no sinner so depraved—-not even Kim Jong-il—-that our merciful God cannot save him. And there is no human so righteous—-not even Vaclav Havel—-whose good works can gain him . . . . Continue Reading »

Christians are commanded to love all men, but Ross Douthat explains why they had a particular and surprising affection for one of their most unrelenting antagonists: American Christian intellectual life is sustained today, to a large extent, by the work of writers very much like Hitchens — by . . . . Continue Reading »

500 years ago this Sunday, the Dominicans friars of the Spanish colony of Hispaniola called the Spanish colonists to repentance for their gross mistreatment of the native population. The stirring words of Antonio de Montesinos’ homily for Fourth Advent—-which shocked the unsuspecting . . . . Continue Reading »

There’s a delicious ending to Matt Franck’s piece at Public Discourse  today. An advocate of same-sex marriage ridicules appeals to the definition of marriage and to tradition by same-sex marriage skeptics, only to make the same appeals when faced with the question of polygamy: . . . . Continue Reading »

There, I said it. Should be enough to get me ejected from polite society, no? In my defense, I’m simply quoting birth-control hero Margaret Sanger, whose surprising statement George Marlin explains over at the Catholic Thing . . . . . Continue Reading »

First Things is a magazine devoted to exploring issues of religion and public life, and like it or not the biggest such issue today is the debate over Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow. I’m not at all surprised that many his find his public displays of piety off-putting, but I have been struck by . . . . Continue Reading »

A North Carolina reproductive health program that once received wide elite support is under fire: Over all, about 70 percent of the North Carolina operations took place after 1945, and many of them were on poor young women and racial minorities. [ . . . ] The program, while not specifically devised . . . . Continue Reading »

Thomas More College now has posted the video of a recent talk R.R. Reno gave on the ancient roots of today’s liturgy: You can find related videos by people like Anthony Esolen and George Rutler on Thomas More College’s video channel . . . . . Continue Reading »

Readers of First Things may be interested in a new documentary on sperm donation called  Anonymous Father’s Day .  The film had drawn high praise from some diverse sources. Here’s Kathleen Sloan of the National Organization of Women: Anonymous Father’s Day  gives a . . . . Continue Reading »