Sex. We’re all hard-wired by natural selection to want it. We all fantasize about it, too. So why is there such a cultural prudishness when it comes to pornography? First, let’s break down what we... Read More

The biblical story of Abraham and Isaac poses a crucial test for believers.  If God commanded you, as he did Abraham, to slaughter your own son, would you do it? If, like Abraham, you’d plunge... Read More

I recall a brief conversation I had with my then 8-year old grandson. It went like this: Grandson: Grandpa Bob, I have a real good friend. Me: That’s wonderful! Who is it? Grandson: Jesus is my... Read More

When you self-identify as a humanist, you assume certain risks. For example, a frightened fundamentalist may seek to scapegoat you for the secularizing effects of modernity.  This risk is specific to humanism, but other risks... Read More

The subject of religion was not given much consideration in my childhood. Neither of my parents were religious. Even my great grandfather, who’d emigrated here from Italy as an adult, was said to have proclaimed,... Read More

I see humanism as having four dimensions; the intrapersonal, the interpersonal, the societal, and the global. We may gravitate toward one dimension or another, but a mature humanism asks us to consider all the dimensions... Read More

On the anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination on April 4, 1968, an unintended consequence of the Civil Rights movement still gets little attention. The movement so transformed the way we thought about the... Read More