The envelope has been sitting on my desk for quite some time: renew your subscription to First Things’ today. I’ve been a subscriber for quite some time, since around 2001. And I’ve sat in the school’s library for hours going over old back issues. Countless mid-90s symposia provided fodder for papers and research trails galore. “While we’re at it” and “the naked public square” were necessary reads for wit and perspective. Most articles were often well-thought out and brought a perspective that I would not have otherwise considered on my own. Before there were blogs, there was Neuhaus’s monthly take. But something’s changed.

I can’t pin it exactly on Neuhaus’s passing (or for that matter, Cardinal Dulles). But although I’d be called a “first things conservative” by many, First Things long since lost that first place it had in my intellectual heart. It started around the time of George Weigel’s repetitive and recalcitrant defense of just-war theory applied to all facets of the War on Terrorism. At some point, the argument was so rehashed by him that it ceased being intellectual. It was just, “You’re stupid and I’m right. Why in the world can’t you see it?” I rolled my eyes anytime another “why we’re in Iraq article” appeared. Neuhaus remained good about criticizing the Bush Administration, but at times, I felt the neo-conservative bent of the magazine had become too cozy with what was the political status quo. The last really great article politically I remember was a circa 2005 piece by Hadley Arkes describing in detail all the simple, executive-branch decisions Bush 43 could make to be more pro-life in his second term. I don’t remember any of them coming to pass. The magazine seemed content with “it’s the mediocrity of our guy, but at least it’s our guy.”

First Things was always more than just political because at its heart it’s theological and cultural. It has brought Catholics and Evangelicals together in such a way that less than a generation later, Stanley Hauerwaus and Benedict XVI can be taken seriously by pseudo-intellectuals on both sides of the Tiber. But it feels like the ship that sailed at that moment has stalled. The recently released Manhattan Declaration is in this same spirit, but despite its clarity, it feels very much like a rehashing of old ground. Perhaps that’s good and necessary, but it becomes a little hard for me to get excited about affirming something that’s been part of the Christian tradition for the last 2000 years. Is that cynicism?

Perhaps the biggest reason is practical: there is no one left who writes regularly for First Things whose content I can’t get in other media. Joe Carter’s web efforts at First Things have largely self-inflicted these wounds. There are so many blogs over at First Things now (at last count, I thought I saw seven…) that much of the magazine’s content ends up becoming available online sooner or later. Indeed, the monthly articles are no longer so compelling as to warrant my attention right away. Take David Goldman for example. For years as Spengler he was a needed gadfly to the West’s complacency towards the connection between cultural decay and Islam. It seemed that as Spengler he was an expert. Now, Spengler unmasked as Goldman seems more interested in working out his pet theories on music and economics while lecturing as a Jew to Christians on what their beliefs are. His stuff may or may not be interesting. But it certainly no longer has an edge. In short, I expect the magazine to be well-thought out, considerate, sophisticated while not being completely arcane.

That’s the same with Bottum’s stewardship of “the naked public square” and “while we’re at it.” Both entries now seem echoes of what Neuhaus’s efforts once were. Noble and interesting. Yes. But compelling? I’m not so sure. The gap between the online world and First Things’ monthly print has narrowed signficantly.

So with that, I looked at my RSS feeds. I counted the number of unread books on my “to read” book shelf and decided. My $25 and countless hours spent reading First Things can be better spent elsewhere. It’s nothing personal. But it seems that it is time to move on.

But I do hope First Things recovers that edge that made me love it so much.