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 …
Three types of religion: self-interested, intrinsic, and adventure (with Gandhi quotes)
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 …
New Year’s resolutions and Jesus’ decisions in the wilderness
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 …
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When it doesn’t make any difference which alternative we choose
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 …
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Political silence and political wisdom
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 …
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Social ethics: affirmations, problems, and solutions
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 …
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