Peter Singer's endorsement of zoophilia is a manifestation of a post-Christian view of humanity.
(To access this content, become a member or log in.)
ethics
Walzer: “Oppressed people can do no wrong” is an “old, bad argument”
Veteran political theorist Michael Walzer has a word or two for his fellow leftists. Here is a taste of his piece at The Atlantic: After the Hamas attack on Israel October 7, an old, bad argument resurfaced. In the streets of...
(To access this content, become a member or log in.)
Steven Mintz on ethics education in American universities
I am a regular reader of University of Houston historian Steven Mintz’s blog at Insider Higher Ed. In his most recent post, he responds to Ezekiel Emanuel’s New York Times op-ed on ethics education in American universities. We wrote about...
(To access this content, become a member or log in.)
How we talk about human life matters
What is a human life worth? And whose life is important? The news are filled with stories that reveal a callous and utilitarian worldview, one that instead of engaging with suffering and pain, judges the lives of the sufferers worth...
(To access this content, become a member or log in.)
Capitalism exhibits “moral idiocy”
I just learned about Christian cultural critic Rodney Clapp‘s recent book Naming Neoliberalism: Exposing the Spirit of Our Age. (I have never met Clapp, but he was the acquisition editor at Baker Books who offered me a contract for Why...
(To access this content, become a member or log in.)
Did Republicans revise their moral beliefs to support Trump?
Of course they did. But now there is a study. Here is Eric. W. Dolan at PsyPost: New research sheds light on how people resolve inconsistencies between their own moral views and that of their preferred candidate. The findings, published...
(To access this content, become a member or log in.)
Episode 77: The Art of Living
How shall we live? Where do we find the resources for living well? In this episode, historian Elisabeth Lasch-Quinn examines the reappearance of ancient philosophical thought in contemporary American culture. She argues that we need to take back philosophy as...
(To access this content, become a member or log in.)
Syndicate Symposium: “Sins and Virtues in American Public Life”
Over at “Syndicate,” Dartmouth religion professor Jeremy Sabella has put together a symposium on the Seven Deadly Sins (lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, and pride), the Four Cardinal Virtues (prudence, courage, temperance, and justice), and the theological virtues of...
(To access this content, become a member or log in.)
Moral reflection in the doing and teaching of history (part two). Or is *Believe Me* a work of history?
Read part one here. This post is adapted from Why Study History: Reflecting on the Importance of the Past. Here are five suggestions for those who want to pursue Robert Gleason’s idea that the historian should always ask whether or not...
(To access this content, become a member or log in.)
Should We Choose the Economy or the Life of Senior Citizens? Ethicists Respond
I can’t believe we are asking this question right now. It seems like some kind of dystopian movie. Sadly, it is Christians who seem to be taking the lead here. See our post on R.R. Reno here. By this point...
(To access this content, become a member or log in.)
Gerson: “This is a world where ethical rules count for nothing. A world where character is for chumps.”
Here is the latest from Washington Post columnist Michael Gerson: With the impeachment trial of President Trump beginning in earnest, right-wing populism has come full circle. Trump was elected on the theory that American politics had become corrupt and broken. Now...
(To access this content, become a member or log in.)
Some More Thoughts on the Populist Critique of “Elite Evangelicals”
For most evangelical Christians, the message of the Gospel transcends the identity categories we place on human beings. All men and women are sinners in need of redemption. Citizenship in the Kingdom of God, made possible by Jesus’s death and...
(To access this content, become a member or log in.)
Wayne Grudem Lives in a Different Moral Universe Than I Do
In case you missed it, evangelical theologian Wayne Grudem has turned to the politically conservative website Townhall to defend Donald Trump and criticize Mark Galli’s Christianity Today editorial. Grudem begins: Galli gives six reasons why Trump should be removed, either by impeachment...
(To access this content, become a member or log in.)
What Did Theologians and Ethicists Say About Bill Clinton’s Impeachment in 1998?
Today I was talking to a reporter about impeachment and recalled a statement issued in 1998 by prominent American theologians and ethicists. A really interesting mix of evangelical and non-evangelical moral philosophers signed this statement. I have copied it below....
(To access this content, become a member or log in.)
Is Paula White Bringing Her “Ponzi Scheme” to the White House?
Many of you recall that court evangelical and prosperity preacher Paula White is now working in the White House. Learn more here. Former George W. Bush Administration ethics lawyer Richard Painter suggests that White is using her new position in...
(To access this content, become a member or log in.)
Marianne Williamson is Right. We Have a Gun Problem AND a Culture Problem
I am getting tired of the way the gun debate plays out in the wake of mass shootings. Everyone tries to score political points or use the deaths of innocent lives to advance their own agendas. For example, here is...
(To access this content, become a member or log in.)
“Throwaway Culture”
I am looking forward to getting my hands on a copy of Charles Camosy‘s new book Resisting Throwaway Culture: How a Consistent Life Ethic Can United a Fractured People. Camosy offers us a small glimpse of his argument in a...
(To access this content, become a member or log in.)
“It seems strange that a university would praise an employee for helping to rig online polls”
Inside Higher Ed is running a follow-up story on the Liberty University Chief Information Officer who accepted a bag of cash from Michael Cohen in exchange for rigging online polls to make Donald Trump look like a successful businessman. We covered...
(To access this content, become a member or log in.)
Hey Liberty University, This is What Happens When You Get Into Bed with Donald Trump and “All the Best People” Who Work for Him
A top-level administrator at one of the largest universities in the world rigged online polls to promote Donald Trump as a great businessman. These polls were used to puff Trump in preparation for his presidential run. Cohen paid John Gauger,...
(To access this content, become a member or log in.)
*The New Republic* Weighs-In on American Missionary John Allen Chau
Yesterday I posted Kate Carte’s twitter thread on the connections between the missionary killed by an indigenous tribe on North Sentinel Island and the American celebration of Thanksgiving. Read the post here. Over at The New Republic, Ryu Spaeth provides...
(To access this content, become a member or log in.)