First Things RSS Feed - Ian Tuttle

Charity or Philanthropy?

Mon, 02 Nov 2015 00:00:00 -0500

The Philanthropic Revolution: An Alternative History of American Charity
by jeremy beer
university of pennsylvania, 134 pages, $19.95

Continue Reading »

These Bones Shall Live

Wed, 05 Mar 2014 00:04:00 -0500

Three white leopards open the second movement of T. S. Eliot’s Ash-Wednesday . What they are supposed to represent is anyone’s guess: the Holy Trinity; the three sins of avarice, gluttony, and lust; the divine agents of destruction that occasionally appear in the Old Testament—the scholarship is indecisive, to put it mildly. In any case, these leopards have devoured our poet’s innards—heart and liver and brain—leaving only a skeleton, broken and blanched. Then, in this valley of dry bones, comes a question: “Shall these bones live?”

Continue Reading »

The Duty to Preserve Religious Liberty

Thu, 28 Jun 2012 00:01:00 -0400

Dear Readers,

First Things is a non-profit. For more than twenty years readers have provided donations that have sustained the journal. Now the electronic age presents new challenges. I’ve written to our subscribers, who have responded with generosity. Now I’m writing to you directly on the web. We need our web readers to step up and provide support as well.

Don’t let a secular mentality dominate our culture. More than twenty years ago Richard John Neuhaus and his colleagues founded First Things to project a confident, informed, engaged, and religious voice into the Public Square. It was necessary then, and it remains so today. Donate now and help us become even stronger. Your support keeps First Things a vital voice in public debate.

First Things depends on all her supporters, large and small. Over the years countless readers have given, some $50, some $500, and some $1,000 and more. These gifts have made the difference. Yours will as well.

With gratitude for your support,

R. R. Reno
Editor

Continue Reading »