The teacher asked a classic moral question to get us thinking: is it right or wrong to kill another human being? I was in high school. It was through discussions like this that I developed a basic understanding of moral decision making. Indeed, after the question was asked, the discussion… Read More »Context and Moral Decisions
It’s a common understanding in Western countries: individual citizens have rights. Issues of human rights come into play when dealing with imprisonment, the news media, and a myriad of issues related to religious practice, personal choices, privacy, health, and so much more. Some countries are listed by the United Nations… Read More »Balance and Our Lives Together
I was no more than five or six years old. With my childhood friend, Denny, we’d roam the neighborhood looking everywhere we could imagine to find our treasure: empty soda bottles. We’d find as many as we could. We’d hope for at least three bottles each. But however many we… Read More »Values for Green Living
Having some time one afternoon, I stopped in at a local bookstore. As is my habit, I went first to see the books on the reduced price table. As I looked over the titles, I stumbled onto a large hardbound volume of photos from the Hubble space telescope. I paged… Read More »Awe and Wonder
If you’re like me, you live most of your life with an acute awareness of time. Minutes, hours, days, weeks, and months organize appointments, deadlines, and opportunities for routines like sharing meals or engaging in spiritual practice. Everything is governed by time. Or is it? We know that time is… Read More »Time and the New Year
The past week has been a difficult one in the United States. Yes, there was another senseless shooting. Over two dozen innocent people were killed, mostly children. The killer was little more than a youth himself. In our tragedy, the world looks on in horror and disbelief. The events of… Read More »Tragic Holidays
As twilight falls, I sit in a favorite chair in my study. The glow of the candles casts shadows in the room from their placement near an icon in a corner. In the stillness, I begin to sing a familiar hymn: O come, O come Emmanuel And ransom captive Israel….… Read More »The Coming of God-With-Us
The song is part of my early childhood memories. In thinking about it, it’s a strange song to remember from childhood. But then I realized that the hit version was released a short time after my birth. Given that both of my parents always listened to music and my father… Read More »A Blue Christmas
