The two First Amendment religion clauses are often described as though they were in conflict, so that they have to be “balanced” against each other.

One of the aims of terrorists is to make their opponent lose their sense of balance and proportion.  Judging from recent events, this isn’t difficult to do.

The other day I came across yet another claim by an atheistic philosopher that God is unnecessary to ethics, that we can ground moral duties even if there is no God.

Let us set aside the question of whether this common claim is true.  For purposes of discussion, let us proceed as though it were.

The chief limitation of the human intellect is not sheer shortage of brainpower, but defect of character.  The weakness of our minds is not that we are not smart enough, but that we are not good enough.

Consider how faulty our thinking is about other people because we are too interested in ourselves;

Mondays are for student letters – or at least letters from young people -- and yes, this was a real letter.

Question:

The evidence is his persistent employment of the second person plural.  For example:

“The God of peace be with y’all.”  (Romans 15:33)

I am speaking in Tucson Thursday night

Political slang used to be a lot more fun.  In the days of the big-city political machines, Progressives who fancied themselves advocates of “good government” were called Goo Goos.