Tag: Ethics

Finding hope?

It’s been a difficult year for many of us. Do we despair or hope for better? But where do we find hope?

Forgiveness & pardon

Forgiveness is a core part of the christian faith, and I thought I understood it. But I found it was slightly more complicated than I thought.

Is altruism really good for you?

Altruism benefits the giver as well as the recipient, and religious beliefs and practices tend to promote altruism. But there are better and worse forms of altruism.

Can humans be reduced to atoms and electro-chemical processes?

An article by a prominent neuroscience researcher argues against a materialistic approach to brain and mind. What can we learn from him?

Can we judge christianity by the harm or good it has done?

Can we judge a belief by how much it benefits or hurts the human race? If so, how does christianity measure up?

5. Are some things really right and wrong?

Almost everyone has a sense of right and wrong, however warped it may be, but where does it come from? Are some things really right and wrong, or are ethics just arbitrary?

Do we live in a moral universe? How do human rights fit in?

When Martin Luther King said “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice”1, most of us like to believe he was expressing a deep truth. We want to see justice done, at least for causes we believe in. But do we live in a moral universe? What does that even […]

Atheists, christians, the alt-right, white supremacy, patriotism, gender, fake news …. and more!

Recently I came across two articles that came from very different viewpoints, but raised some similar issues. It certainly made me think about how religious and anti-religious movements and ideas can have a lot more in common than you might think.

“The implications of my atheism were incompatible with almost every value I held dear”

This post told the story of Sarah Irving-Stonebreaker. I have now moved this information to this page: “The implications of my atheism were incompatible with almost every value I held dear”.

Are religious people less logical?

Most people like to think they are logical, and have good reasons for their choices – including their choice of believing in God, or not. But modern atheists often accuse christians (and believers in other religions) of not basing their beliefs on evidence and reason. And it’s a plausible argument, for psychological studies have suggested […]