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From my point of view, and I'm not a Christian, that seems odd. You can't avoid temptation. You can only choose to not act on your temptations. If being tempted is itself a sin, the rules are unfairly stacked against us. btw, if you're not married, and the woman you might lust after isn't...

Agree completely. To my mind, the moral issues involving sex come down to three things: It has to be consensual, it has to be safe, and it has to be honest.

Something happened that offended at a memorial service I attended recently. I'm wondering if I'm just thin-skinned. Some background: It was a real tragedy in the family. A 33-year-old woman died of breast cancer less than a year after being diagnosed. Her father is my wife's...

I thought I'd recommend some of my favorite books about religion. I'd also, of course, like to hear your recommendations. Who Wrote the Bible? by Richard Elliott Friedman The title is misleading. It should be called Who Wrote the Torah, since it only covers what Christians call the Five...

It's not so much a protest as a welcoming to the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) community.

In the politically progressive circles I run in, an orange is standard for the seder plate. This tradition is maybe 30 years old, and yet its origins are already lost in myth. The seder is the traditional Passover ritual and meal. The seder plate contains various symbolic foods--matzo...

Passover is an 8-day holiday that starts on the 15th day of the month of Nisan. The Hebrew calendar is lunar; every month starts on the new moon. So Passover always starts on a full moon. The Hebrew calendar is also a very loose solar calendar. (How loose? The Gregorian calendar is a very...

Sorry, Thomas, but I don't buy it. If we assume God is an all-powerful creator, then we have to assume that God created us as imperfect mortals, easily confused about what is good and what is evil. And if God does that, and then punishes us for being evil, then God is evil for treating us...

I remember this. It happened three years ago. The funny thing is that this was the second time this preacher picked an exact date. Few of his followers said "He was mistaken before. Maybe he'll be mistaken again." I remember reading an interview with a follower as the date was getting close...

Nothing funny about it. These religions all came out of agricultural societies. Seasons are very important. Most religions have holidays around each solstice and equinox. And, of course, Passover and Easter are tied together, since Christian tradition says that the Crucifixion and...

One of my favorite festivals, Pesach (Passover) is only a few days away. For 8 days, we commemorate the Exodus from Egypt. For those 8 days, we follow stricter-than-usual dietary rules. We eat unleavened matzo instead of bread. Pretty much all other wheat products, plus oats and barley, are...

No one is suggesting you change religion. But it's good to read other people's views. We're all imperfect mortals, and if there's a God, and if that God is good, it understands that and forgives us. I can accept the idea of a purgatory, but the very idea of a permanent hell conflicts with...

Actually, the Torah has something like 600 commandments. The Ten are just the beginning.

I can't possibly believe that God sends you to heaven or hell based on your guessing the right religion. To my mind, that implies that God is a psychopath. But then, I really don't believe in an individual life after death. Maybe your soul becomes one with God, like a raindrop landing in the...

Hey, Ducks. I don't agree. It just seems that way because the major media today thrives on conflict. Christians and atheists yelling at each other is better TV than a respectful debate. This forum itself shows that people can discuss these issues respectively.

That iPhone statement just makes this perfect!:)

Hi, Lilie. I'm not exactly sure what you mean. Could you play that a little better?

While I do pray, I don't believe that it effects anything other than my state of mind...and the states of mind of people who know I'm praying. Let's consider praying for someone gravely sick to get better. Aside from the fact that tests have shown that it doesn't work, it brings up the...

I got this idea from an off-hand remark made by a Buddhist monk in the book The Jew in the Lotus. But I've enlarged it quite a bit myself. Religion is like food. The basic rules common to all religions--treat others as you would like to be treated, pursue peace, love others--are the protein...

To me, the story is a parable about growing up. First, you live in a world where are your needs are provided. Life is easy. Then you rebel, and at about the same time, you begin to understand a bit more of how the world works. You develop some wisdom. And at the same time, sexuality hits you...