Humanitarianism and Misanthropy

Whenever I hear sentiments such as "I hate people," what I see is in most cases is a crisis of faith.Christianity and Islam believe that people are evil, and people who follow these creeds are not surprised to see human ugliness. Whereas someone who believes in people's...

Knowledge and Righteousness

In the film "White Oleander," a girl who has been exposed to Christian preachings asks a boy who is into science, "Does knowing things tell you what is right and wrong?" As a matter of fact, knowing things does a lot to help know what is right and what is wrong.Knowing the...

Determinants of Courage

Once Dr. Phil played an episode in which he interviewed several people who had done courageous things and asked them to explain courage. I do not consider myself a courageous person, but I know a number of people who are highly courageous, and from what I've seen there appear...

Judaism’s greatest leap of faith: the belief that the world is r

By Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks. Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, is a kind of clarion call, a summons to the Ten Days of Penitence which culminate in the Day of At0nement. The Torah calls it ‘the day when the horn is sounded’, and its central event is the sounding of the...

Corruption, Heroism and Liberal Conscience

Doing political research on the Internet affords three kinds of experience. One is coming across a candidate whose site tells a load of aggressive deceptions, at which lies one wants to shout and which to get out of one's head one writes editorials on such forums as...

the round table

This idea precedes the Arthurian Legend likely originating in the city-state of Athens, the original democracy. Athena, the patron goddess of Athens, the goddess of wisdom, has been my patron goddess from childhood. Athena has guided me every step of the way.. i'm not...

5 Categories of Faith

Gug's a rational cynic (i'm fairly certain). i'm a spiritual fatalist he. My mother's a religious extremist. i'm guessing most ppl would fall into the category: religious ambivalence he. Finally, i'm guessing a significant minority of us would really love to be absolutely...

Michele Bachmann : Prayer will drive 2012 decision

"She's making visits to all the crucial early-voting states, but Rep. Michele Bachmann says she won't run for president unless she feels a sense of "inner assurance." Speaking to the Christian Broadcasting Network's David Brody, the Minnesota Republican and tea party favorite...

3 Philly priests charged with sex abuse

" Three Philadelphia priests and a parochial school teacher were charged Thursday with raping and assaulting boys in their care, while a former official with the Philadelphia Archdiocese was accused of allowing the abusive priests to have access to children, the city's ...