Jesus warned against lust, adulterous emotion, as the inner equivalent of adultery, which violates the truth and high reality of marriage and family as understood on high. He warned against anger as he deepened the commandment forbidding murder, which violates the truth of the brotherhood of man, each person created in the image of God, … Read more
As these blogposts circle through a variety of topics, they explore limits. This philosophy of living does not allow its religious core to be upstaged by getting entangled in social, economic, and political controversies; the comments on such topics are therefore few and quite general. In commenting on world politics, this paper from 2004 represents … Read more
In a cartoon strip by Scott Adams, the boss says, “We can make this a great place to work by following the golden rule. Treat others as you would want them to treat you.” Dilbert replies, “That’s dumb.” Boss: “It’s not dumb.” Dilbert: “Let’s test your rule. Would you like it if someone gave you … Read more
Over the years, the sculptor who moved me most was Auguste Rodin, whose Burgers of Calais continues to symbolize for me the heights of human greatness. The work commemorates the men of the French city of Calais, who in 1347 responded to the offer of the victorious English king who had besieged their city but … Read more
What’s the evidence that religion makes a difference in a person’s level of altruism? Pretty slim, depending how religion is defined. People who go through the motions of being religious but are basically motivated by self-interest . . . well, what do you think? Right. No difference between external religion and no religion at all … Read more
There is a custom of making a New Year’s resolution, for example: This year I will get organized. These resolutions are notoriously impotent. By contrast, a decision launches an action or a course of action: Today I will spend an hour organizing my work space. If this is to count as a decision in the … Read more
A friend of mine reported hearing once unmistakably from God. She had debated intensely and at length between two passions: to pursue a career in opera or to go to seminary and then into the ministry. Exhausted by the struggle, she heard, “It doesn’t make any difference.” We have heard about Buridan’s ass, the … Read more
Some religious leaders provide leadership on disputed social, economic, and political questions; others do not. Jesus did not. The hot political topic in his day had to do with loyalty to the rule of the Roman government. Jesus’ enemies tried to trap him by posing the question to Jesus whether we should pay taxes to … Read more
Mohandas Gandhi To many people there are some obvious ethical truths: society should support family life as well as individual self-realization; economic life should include the service motive as well as the profit motive; political life should pursue the good of the planet as well as the interests of the nation. No matter how obvious … Read more