The Chronicle of Philanthropy just released a study based on IRS data showing, county by county, charitable giving in 2012. One of the interesting conclusions it saw was that the top 17 counties in terms of generosity (by % of income) voted for Romney in...
One of the toughest and best challenges to the Christian faith is commonly called The Problem of Evil. Simply stated as as syllogism: If God created everything Then God created evil Therefore, God can not be all good because evil originated with Him Of course,...
What does the Bible say about our relationship to work, and do those same scriptures also clearly approve or condemn slavery? My main thesis is that the household codes that discuss the obedience of servants to masters, in the Roman context, is primarily addressed to the majority...
My friend Candice recently asked me if I had any recommendations for a tween bible for a boy and a girl. Lucky for her, I had recently researched this for my own kids, and her inquiry led me to codify what I found. Features to look...
In 2001, during my journey out of Christendom, I attended a 10 day silent Buddhist meditation retreat in the California hills, which focused on a certain simple type of silent meditation called Vipassana. I published my reflections on it back then, and you can see...
Nothing stirs up fundamentalist hornets’ nests like the positive thinking ‘Christianity-lite’ of Joel and Victoria Osteen. This past week, she outdid herself with the video below, saying: “When we obey God, we’re not doing it for God. I mean, that’s one way to look at...
Well, if I ever feel short of material to goad me to write, all I have to do is visit the Atheism vs Christianity (no holds barred) Facebook group for fodder. Of course, in a group like this, at least half of the members are...
The relationship of faith and science is controversial, and there are perhaps 5 simple philosophic positions you can take: 1. Science Trumps Religion (EMA) That is, science alone can answer not only questions of the physical world, but of ethics and morals as well. Religion is...
