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Joined March 2009
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Politicians once needed the party boss. Now they need the influencer. What does that cost us?
Read the piece at firstthings.com/is-the-influ…
The mythical intermingles with the natural in that most glorious game, baseball.
To read the piece visit firstthings.com/nostos-in-th…
On this episode of the First Things Podcast, the editors discuss the blue wave in the midterm elections, the 39th Annual Erasmus Lecture, and Bob Dylan’s audience with Pope Leo XIV.
To listen to the conversation, visit firstthings.com/tangled-up-i…
ALT A podcast cover titled "Tangled Up In Blue" for the "First Things Podcast." It features three individuals: one in business attire, another in a dark suit with an American flag pin, and the last in a black jacket and hood.
Republicans can’t win with pro-life voters alone, but they also can’t win without them.
Read the piece at firstthings.com/the-pro-life…
ALT The image shows the cover of "First Things" magazine featuring the headline "The Pro-Life Movement's Midterm Reckoning" by Jonathon Van Maren. Below the headline, there are two voting booths with American flags and the word "VOTE" displayed on them. The background is dark red.
Nathaniel A. Sanders reflects on the growing number of students entering the Catholic Church at Harvard and other universities, exploring the spiritual and cultural factors behind this unexpected revival.
firstthings.com/harvards-qui…
R. R. Reno examines the midterm elections as a sign of voters’ growing frustration with America’s political establishment and its failure to deliver meaningful change.
Reflecting on the shortcomings of the Trump administration and the unfulfilled promises of MAGA, the piece considers the prospect of a new era of regime change and the challenge facing conservatives to articulate a transformative political vision of their own.
To read the piece, visit firstthings.com/voters-want-…
First Things retweeted
Harvard’s Quiet Catholic Revival firstthings.com/harvards-qui…
Algis Valiunas revisits Francis Bacon’s vision of scientific progress as a means of extending divine mercy and relieving human suffering.
Tracing the legacy of Bacon’s ambitions into modernity, the piece examines the moral dangers of human efforts to overcome the limits of the created world, especially when the pursuit of compassion and human betterment comes at the expense of divine authority.
To read the piece, visit firstthings.com/francis-baco…
George Weigel reflects on Jimmy Lai’s imprisonment in Hong Kong and the remarkable faith with which he and his family endure suffering. Drawing on the early Christian understanding of “white martyrdom,” Weigel considers the Lai family’s witness through sacrifice, steadfastness, and prayer, and calls for solidarity with them as they face the hardships of Lai’s continued imprisonment and his daughter’s illness.
To read the piece, visit firstthings.com/white-martyr…
First Things retweeted
As the Archdiocese prepares to shutter half of its parishes in the city, I’ve written about the strange death of Catholic Glasgow for @firstthingsmag.
How did we get here? Who got us here? Where do we go from here?
READ MORE: firstthings.com/the-death-of…
ALT QUOTE: Neglect and indifference happen when fathers allow Mass-going to be the preserve of mothers and children, and when parents shirk their duty to catechize their offspring. Priests and Catholic school teachers are not spiritual babysitters; for faith to take root, formation must begin at home and begin early. Lay Catholics have shown themselves to be indifferent to Holy Orders. For decades now, the hierarchy has warned that unless Catholic families raise sons for the priesthood, in time there will be no priesthood. Bishops don’t close parishes; a lack of priests does. END QUOTE
Stephen Daisley examines the decline of Catholicism in Glasgow, where falling Mass attendance and a shortage of priests have prompted plans to close half the archdiocese’s parishes. The piece explores the cultural and spiritual causes of this decline, arguing that the future of Catholicism depends on renewed devotion, faithful families, and a deeper commitment to the life of the Church.
To read the piece, visit firstthings.com/the-death-of…
Dale M. Coulter examines the dispute between Highland Park Methodist Church and the United Methodist Church’s Horizon Texas Conference, highlighting the growing tensions between denominational authority and the independence of powerful megachurches.
Drawing on the church’s efforts to secure its property and autonomy amid the UMC’s recent schisms, the article explores the changing landscape of American Protestantism and warns bishops against underestimating the influence of large congregations in an increasingly postdenominational age.
To read the piece, visit firstthings.com/a-cautionary…
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My take on the Highland Park Methodist Church situation.
A Cautionary Tale for Methodist Bishops firstthings.com/a-cautionary…
First Things retweeted
I am proud to repost last week's second-most-read article at @firstthingsmag. Alas, not everybody can be #1!
firstthings.com/lgbtq-is-far…
In the latest installment of Conversations, Paul Carrese joins Mark Bauerlein to discuss his recent book, "Teaching America."
To listen to the conversation, visit firstthings.com/civics-educa…
Robert Royal surveys the global persecution of Christians, drawing on a new report from Aid to the Church in Need to document violence and repression across the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. From Islamist militants to communist regimes and authoritarian governments, the piece details the widespread threats facing Christian communities and the need for greater public attention and action in defense of religious freedom.
To read the piece, visit firstthings.com/todays-globa…
Mark Bauerlein surveys five books that illuminate the lives, ideas, and convictions of influential figures. From Hannah Arendt’s sustaining friendships and Paul Gottfried’s independent cultural criticism to Charlie Kirk’s public legacy, Fulton Sheen’s reflections on love, and David Sawatzki’s testimony of faith under oppression, these works show how biography and personal witness can offer moral insight into the times we inhabit.
To read the piece, visit firstthings.com/earnest-live…
In "Inside the Roman Mind", John Duggan reviews Robert Harris’s novel Agrippa, exploring the profound moral divide between the ancient Roman world and the Christian civilization that followed.
Drawing on Tom Holland’s Dominion, Duggan considers how Christianity transformed Western understandings of mercy, human dignity, sexuality, and restraint, imagining how even a virtuous Roman warrior might struggle to comprehend the moral convictions of a Christianized society.
To read the piece, visit firstthings.com/inside-the-r…
