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

The Church of Empathy

Circle of Hope is a Philadelphia church that was founded by a pair of Southern Californian hippie church planters, Rod and Gwen White, in 1996. From the start the group dedicated itself to reaching parts of the community that were typically missed by many of the mainstream churches. Church members . . . . Continue Reading »

Letters

Rhys Laverty (“Lady Scrooges,” December 2024) was perceptive in pointing out that women helped build today’s unforgiving cancel culture. On the other hand, the feminism responsible is not a misplaced maternal vice arising from what C. S. Lewis characterized as “intense family patriotism . . . . Continue Reading »

Middlebrow Protestantism

In 1979, a player for the Baltimore Orioles named Pat Kelly hit a home run and raised a finger in the air. A reporter later asked whether Kelly had meant to taunt the opposing fans. “I was pointing to my savior in the sky,” Kelly replied. “I was giving thanks to God almighty.” This gesture . . . . Continue Reading »

Pascal’s Wager: An Update

Should you believe in God? For many people, belief is a matter of faith. But let’s say you didn’t grow up with a religion, or you fell away from religion, and now are wondering whether that was the right choice. Is there a way to approach the question with reasoned analysis, as you would any . . . . Continue Reading »

Preach For America

A woman, sitting behind the wheel of her car, is hollering. She’s alternating between “why, why, why,” and “no, no, no,” all at the top of her lungs while slamming her fist against the steering wheel. Another is staring defiantly at the camera, like a TikTok Joan of Arc, while a . . . . Continue Reading »

Maimonides for Today

From Moses to Moses, there arose none like Moses. This aphorism, popular in rabbinic literature from the Middle Ages until today, draws a comparison between the biblical legislator and his worthiest medieval successor. It is almost impossible to overstate the prominence, the influence, the . . . . Continue Reading »

Jordan Peterson’s “God”

A man who disbelieved the Christian story as fact but continually fed on it as myth would, perhaps, be more spiritually alive than one who assented and did not think much about it.” So claimed C. S. Lewis in his 1944 essay “Myth Became Fact.” Lewis insisted that myth lies at the heart of . . . . Continue Reading »

Filter Tag Articles