If we equate being nice with being kind (in Latin, benignitas), I suppose we could think niceness is, if not a virtue, at least virtuous. St. Paul numbers kindness among the fruits of the Holy Spirit. It is a manifestation of charity and even of justice, for when we are kind we afford our fellow the respect that is his due as a man.
Read moreDinesh D'Souza ... has written a new book entitled What's So Great About Christianity. Dinesh, why did you write the book, What's So Great About Christianity?
Dinesh D'Souza: Well, I've been, for 15 years, a secular writer. I've written seven books, but I felt that something new is happening today. That is, we're seeing for the first time atheism become a serious option for people and particularly for young people.
Read more"So when they do talk about it, they tend to talk about just the moral side of whether it's right or wrong without any real understanding of where people are coming from - so it comes across as very harsh," he commented.
Read moreBut this year, the management of her apartment complex issued a directive: Any and all "religious symbols or religious words associated with Christmas" are banned from the public areas of the building.
The Anti-Religious Bigotry of Lawsuit Expectations
Even the word "Christmas" was banned. The residents were told to use "holiday" instead (an irony not picked up by the elites since the word "holiday" is derived from "Holy Day").
Read moreDawkins cited this example in advocating that atheists call themselves "brights." After all, atheist is a somewhat negative term because it defines itself by what it is opposed to. "Bright" sounds so much happier and, more important, smarter. "Bright" kind of reflects the high opinion that atheists have of their own intellectual abilities.
Read moreNow, the Institute is not some unimportant relic of communist days clinging to existence in a squalid slum attic. On the contrary, it has very close links with the government. The report was commissioned when Nick Pearce, now head of public policy in the Prime Minister's Office, was its director.
Read moreThe two Harvard scientists have noted that, while abstinence programs in countries like Uganda have proven their effectiveness, AIDS policymakers continue to promote condom use, and ignore the differences in AIDS rates among African antions.
Read moreNothing. The press is up to its old tricks. When I was in the White House, the press heralded me as Nixon's brilliant political strategist. Then within a year, once having built me up, I was called the "White House hatchet man" and a lot worse. The press loves to create monsters, build them up, and then take credit for slaying them. It sells papers.
Read moreIt has become difficult to hold true to strongly held beliefs. The problem lies in the fact that behaviors, once held simply as sinful actions, are being lauded as definers of identity.
Read moreThe media harp on the Pope's views on homosexuality, yet have remained relatively silent on a very similar position held by the leader of the world's Buddhists. In an interview with the Vancouver Sun in 2004, the Buddhist leader was questioned about homosexuality to which he replied, "For a Buddhist, the same sex, that is sexual misconduct."
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