Category: Featured
Can We Talk?
In interfaith circles there is frequently a call for "dialogue" rather than "debate". Is it really possible for those with deeply differing metaphysical commitments to engage in "dialogue", or is the ... Read More
Atheist Hijacking of Humanism
A hypocrite wears a halo but hides mockery in his heart. Ambrose Bierce defines hypocrisy as “one who, professing virtues that he does not respect, secures the advantage of seeming to be what he des... Read More
Justice, Osama bin Laden, and American Civil Religion
As I sat on my couch scanning Twitter and listening to the President describe the killing of Osama bin Laden, I realized that this was a high moment in American civil religion. Thanks to a couple coll... Read More
Bin Laden’s Dead. But, What Are We Celebrating, Exactly?
I am still sorting through the emotions and the facts swirling around the announcement that Osama bin Laden has been killed. What a turn of events! These are just my initial thoughts about terror, lo... Read More
Defamation and Debate: The Conversation Within
The conversation within a faith is painful and challenging because it can feel like a battle for the identity of the faith itself, and by extension, our own identity. It’s easy to think that differe... Read More
How Hoops Can Fix Your Oops (or, A Lighthearted Treatise on the Wisdom of Basketball’s Justice)
Let’s talk about the cost of the clink: With the United States having the highest incarceration rate in the industrialized world, with costs to maintain it soaring, and with high recidivism, most Am... Read More
What Do Americans Really Believe?
Are mega-churches more intimate than small congregations? Are atheists more superstitious or likely to believe in the paranormal than conservative Christians? Do many Americans believe some "non-relig... Read More
Chaos, Apparently
I thoroughly enjoy reading David Brooks’ columns in The New York Times. I particularly enjoy his columns parsing social science literature. How many columnists in the United States, or anywhere ... Read More