First Things RSS Feed - Tom Wilson

Irving Kristol's God

Sun, 01 Mar 2015 00:00:00 -0500

Having long been regarded as the godfather of neoconservatism, Irving Kristol is well known for his political writings. Less well known are his essays on religion. And yet, the more one reads of his work, the more apparent it becomes that this is in some sense the wrong way around. Though Kristol was no theologian, matters of religion, morality, and meaning underpin his entire political worldview. This, however, forces a question, and not one without some controversy: If religion was so central to the thought of Irving Kristol, then is this equally the case regarding the political persuasion with which he is so intimately associated? Does neoconservatism actually have some deeply religious roots? This is the question I found myself asking after reading Kristol’s Jewish essays, now conveniently gathered as an e-book and published by Mosaic magazine.

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Europe’s Euthanasia Craze

Fri, 09 Jan 2015 00:13:00 -0500

The case of Frank Van Den Bleeken—the Belgian murderer and rapist who requested to be euthanized rather than spend life in prison—has provoked its fair share of comment. And rightly so, for the facts of this case are shocking. But far more shocking is the rapidly growing euthanasia culture that made this whole affair possible. The increasing normalization of euthanasia is just one of many social trends that reveals a Europe that is becoming profoundly estranged from its Judeo-Christian heritage. As that happens, European societies are losing the moral and spiritual anchor with which to resist the gradual slide into a complacent nihilism.

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Britain’s Baby Burning

Tue, 25 Mar 2014 10:50:00 -0400

The British public is currently being scandalized by the revelations that hospitals there have been incinerating the remains of aborted infants as clinical waste, in some cases doing so to generate electricity for hospitals. Even in that country which has so steadfastly refused to have the abortion debate, waves have been caused by the news that in the last two years alone the bodies of more than 15,000 aborted and miscarried babies were incinerated by twenty-seven National Health Service trusts. Two used the remains to burn in waste-to-energy plants that provide power for the hospitals.

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Jews and the Persecution of Christians

Thu, 13 Feb 2014 00:00:00 -0500

In a recent interview regarding America, Israel, and the wider Middle East, Malcolm Hoenlein, the long-serving head of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, spoke out unequivocally against the persecution of Christians around the world and the West’s shameful acquiescence in the face of these horrible crimes. Holding what is arguably the most senior leadership position within American Jewry, for Hoenlein to have spoken out in this way is a welcomed move on a much-neglected subject.

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Marc Chagall’s Jewish Crucifixions

Tue, 19 Nov 2013 00:00:00 -0500

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