The Eschatological Hope of Bearing Children

by Ian Caveny

To bear a baby is to participate in the mysteries of God.  Continue Reading »

5 Feb 2018

War Against Fathers

by John Waters

The New Politics of Sex: The Sexual Revolution, Civil Liberties, and the Growth of Governmental Powerby stephen baskervilleangelico, 408 pages, $30 Divorce cases in the U.S. now account for 35 to 50 percent of civil litigation, at a cost to the public purse of billions of dollars per year. Out of . . . . Continue Reading »

1 Jan 2018

Losing my Child at Easter

by Leah Libresco Sargeant

A grieving mother finds Christ in the comfort of fellow women also bearing wounds.  Continue Reading »

22 Sep 2017

No, Junior, the Catholic Church is not the Same as ISIS

by Br. Michael Baggot

A seventh-grader recently asked me how to respond to his peer’s obstinate claim that he and the rest of his Catholic co-religionists are just as bad as ISIS. Continue Reading »

16 Dec 2016

Richard Swinburne on Sex, Family, and Life

by The Editors

A controversy has erupted in the past week over a keynote delivered by Richard Swinburne at the most recent Midwest meeting of the Society of Christian Philosophers. We at First Things were curious about the paper that prompted all the to-do, and so we asked Professor Swinburne to let us make his paper available. He has generously agreed. Continue Reading »

3 Oct 2016

Why Man and Woman Are Not Equal

by Glenn T. Stanton

Man and woman are not equal. He owes what he is to her. That is hardly her only power, but it is among her most formidable. Continue Reading »

26 Aug 2016

The Moral Heart of Hamilton

by Alexi Sargeant

Hamilton tells of America’s pursuit of greatness and reminds us how much we need goodness. Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical locates politics downstream of marriage and family. Continue Reading »

25 Aug 2016

Can Only Theologians Get Married?

by Matthew Schmitz

If the sincere exchange of vows doesn’t make their marriage valid, what does? Must all sacramentally valid marriages resemble my friends', beginning only after a few years of theological study, during a Mass set to music by Mozart? Continue Reading »

17 Jun 2016

The Merciful Grace of the Truth

by George Weigel

At the Easter Vigil a few weeks ago, tens of thousands of men and women, mature adults, were baptized or entered into full communion with the Catholic Church. Each of them walked a unique itinerary of conversion; each of these “newborn babes” (1 Peter 2.2) is a singular work of the Holy Spirit. . . . . Continue Reading »

13 Apr 2016

The True Goods of Marriage: Not What We Expect

by Bianca Czaderna

Everyone’s talking about marriage these days. Even those who don’t believe in it are talking about it all the time. The definition of marriage, the future of marriage, gay marriage, divorce and remarriage, when to get married, how to be married, how to stay married. It’s simultaneously being . . . . Continue Reading »

12 Apr 2016