Notes: On the unity of world religious culture

I recently ran across the following quote from 20th-century Christian author, C. S. Lewis in his book, The Abolition of Man. These remarks preface an assemblage of quotes that relate to what Lewis termed Natural Law, which he more or less equated with ancient Chinese term, the Tao:
The idea of collecting independent testimonies presupposes [...]

On Voting the Lesser of Two Evils

So the presidential race may come down to a contest between McCain and Obama. Since each candidate is scary in his own way, many people would then vote based on the principle of choosing the lesser evils. Let’s examine that principle here, and also tie some concepts of decision theory.
First, regardless of which candidate [...]

America’s Malaise: What is the Real Problem?

In her Huffington Post blog, Middle-East expert and columnist Judith Kipper recently added an article titled “America’s Malaise“. She made some good points. At least it’s good to see someone explicitly addressing the problem. America does suffer from something – you can call it malaise, severe uncertainty, a crisis of confidence, [...]

Politics: Inner and Outer

A fairly little-known fact is that Plato’s Republic, a work often taught in government and political science classes, is really about psychology. If you read the Republic closely, you see that Plato (through the character of Socrates) introduces the ideal State as a metaphor for the human soul. The idea is to, using [...]

Comments on “A Common Word between Us and You”

Comments on “A Common Word between Us”
In October of 2007, 138 Muslim leaders, clerics, and scholars published an open letter to His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI titled, A Common Word between Us and You. The letter was unambiguously positive and well motivated. The summary of the letter states succinctly (and correctly): “The future [...]

A Reply to Osama bin Laden

A Reply to Osama Bin Laden
John S. Uebersax PhD
Preface
Following the attacks of September 2001, Osama Bin Laden has delivered several addresses to Americans (e.g., October 2004; April 2006; September 2007). Since the American people themselves, and not their government or corporations, were addressed, and further since the people were the victims the attacks, I, as [...]

Recognizing the Power of Prayer

The thing about prayer is that everybody knows it works, but they act otherwise.
The problem is not that prayer doesn’t work, or only works sometimes; it’s that people forget to pray. Scripture teaches, the saints affirm, and I am personally convinced that prayer works. And it always works.
You are not just some lump [...]

Renew America and the World Will Follow

When I came to Europe to visit I hoped I’d to find many good ideas I could take back to the US — new concepts and paradigms for the future. What happened is almost the reverse — the experience made me see appreciate the importance of our leadership role.
Yes, we have difficulties and make mistakes. [...]

Why Vote Third-Party?

Why Vote Third-party?
My goal here is to convince you to vote for a third-party candidate — ANY third-party candidate — in the 2008 presidential election.
The reasoning is simple:
First, it should be evident to all that the Democratic and Republican parties are ‘in cahoots’. There’s not much real difference between them. Together they form [...]

Article – The Personal Practice of Nonviolence

Article: The Personal Practice of Nonviolence, by Jennifer Hadley
In taking offense at others, I was choosing fear. When I took offense I was calling forth a violent energy within myself. Generally I didn’t let people know (at least not directly) that they’d offended me and so the violent energy was directed within…
Full article:
http://promotingpeace.org/2004/1/hadley.html
Keywords: [...]