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First Things

First Things

Magazine | United States | Right
www.firstthings.com/

Journal of religion and public life featuring leading scholars on faith, culture, and public policy.

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Articles

Discussions from First Things

Culture

The Savannah Enlightenment

In 1716, a remarkable commoner by the name of James Oglethorpe took a leave of absence from Corpus Christi College, Oxford. His most notable accomplishment to date—admittedly, he was. The post The Savannah Enlightenment appeared first on First Things

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Geopolitics

Does Just War Doctrine Require Moral Certainty?

Pope Leo XIV has made it clear that the U.S. war on Iran does not, in his judgment, meet the criteria of just war doctrine. Timothy Broglio, archbishop for. The post Does Just War Doctrine Require Moral Certainty? appeared first on First Things

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Culture

“Ecclesiacide,” Then and Now

Pardon the Latin-rooted neologism, but if “patricide” works for murdering your father and “regicide” for taking out a king, why not “ecclesiacide” for trying to kill an entire Church. The post “Ecclesiacide,” Then and Now appeared first on First Things

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Culture

Life Lessons from a Basketball Coach (ft. Rob Jenkins)

In the ​latest installment of the ongoing interview series with contributing editor Mark Bauerlein, Rob Jenkins joins in to discuss his recent memoir, Shooting After Practice: A JUCO Odyssey. The post Life Lessons from a Basketball Coach (ft. Rob Jenkins) appeared first on First Things

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Culture

The Church of David Bowie

David Bowie and the Search for Life, Death and Godby peter ormerodbloomsbury, 256 pages, $28 Thirty-four years ago today, David Bowie knelt on the stage at Wembley Stadium in. The post The Church of David Bowie appeared first on First Things

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Politics

Trump, Leo, and the Death of Integralism

There is a Yiddish witticism, Der Mensch tracht, un Gott lacht (“Man plans, and God laughs”), and recent events suggest the divine has a particularly puckish sense of humor. The post Trump, Leo, and the Death of Integralism appeared first on First Things

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Politics

The Almost-Greatness of Donald Trump and Leo XIV

Reading—for obvious reasons—Henri Daniel-Rops’s The Church in the Dark Ages, I have been repeatedly struck by the truism that moments of institutional crisis demand genuinely great leaders. Movements, forces, trends. The post The Almost-Greatness of Donald Trump and Leo XIV appeared first on First Things

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Culture

A Gracious and Modest Punch to the Gut

For Instanceby rhina p. espaillatwiseblood books, 126 pages, $18 Dominican-American poet and translator Rhina Espaillat, at ninety-four, has spent decades examining life and then, graciously and modestly, punching us. The post A Gracious and Modest Punch to the Gut appeared first on First Things

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Geopolitics

An American Pope at a Time of War

When it comes to papal matters in Rhode Island, I am often interviewed on the local news. Thus, I get my “fifteen minutes of fame” whenever a pope dies. The post An American Pope at a Time of War appeared first on First Things

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Culture

The Return of the Mainline? (ft. Brad East)

In this episode, Brad East joins R. R. Reno on The Editor’s Desk to talk about his recent review, “Mainlining Nostalgia” from the April 2026 issue of the magazine. The post The Return of the Mainline? (ft. Brad East) appeared first on First Things

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Politics

The USCCB’s Just War Error

Just war is again being discussed in the public square by policymakers and prelates alike. Recently, the chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Doctrine, Bishop James Massa, made a. The post The USCCB’s Just War Error appeared first on First Things

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