The Golden Rule

The “Golden Rule” is often considered to be a one sentence summary of what Christianity is all about. Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets. Matthew 7:12 Jesus said this in the context of promising that … Read more

Is the world really growing “more wicked?”

As long as I can remember, I have been hearing in church about how we know we are living in the “last days” because the world is getting “increasingly wicked.” Obviously, we thought, the end times were imminent because there were so many “bad” people in the world doing such “bad” things. And, of course, … Read more

Was Eve deceived by the Serpent?

The other day I asked this question to my 89-year-old mother. Her answer was, “I don’t believe that for a minute. She knew exactly what she was doing.” It is impossible to know the precise degree to which Eve may have made her decision (about eating the fruit) by being swayed by Satan’s temptations or … Read more

Four Techniques of Disinformation

Disinformation is more than simply misinformation, or false information. Disinformation is false information that is deliberately spread in order to deceive. In our day to day lives we tend to trust the people we live with, work with, and worship with. We usually don’t live our daily lives in a suspicious, guarded, fashion. In our … Read more

Tribalism vs. Truth

Right-wing media and their allies in the Republican party have consciously and deliberately created the current extreme polarization in our society by completely rejecting the core institutions and norms of American democracy. They have managed to convince millions that our traditional institutions tell only lies and that reality resides only in the rhetorical universe they … Read more