Some people believe that morality is not real, but simply a myth – a useful fiction. According to this perspective, people invented morality as a tool to help society function, in much the same way that we invented money.
We wish to start by recognizing that we do not yet completely understand the Bible, and by recognizing that there is a large amount of material available to help us come to a better, more complete and more accurate understanding of it, based on evide
Morality is a large and difficult subject, so we are not going to attempt to summarize it here: the aim of this article is to set out an overview of the subject, and describe the territory in a way which will help us to talk usefully about morality w
The search for truth involves techniques and disciplines which vary between the different areas: the search for truth in a research lab follows one set of rules, in a law court it follows another. But it is always a human activity, and the same basic
One of the significant developments of the past century is the development of human rights. But it is arguable that concentrating on human rights, while it has produced a great amount of good, has been a side-track from a more productive perspective
What does it mean to be human? People have discussed and argued about this for a long time. It is of general interest, but it also plays a significant part in shaping our understanding of other significant issues.
Freedom is a difficult concept. You can't have complete freedom, and you would not want it anyway: you want some freedoms to be restricted, so that you can enjoy other freedoms. Some freedoms should be restricted to avoid harm - to avoid harming othe
The best way to understand the Christian faith is from the perspective of the founder, Jesus. The next best way is from the perspectives of the first Christians, who knew Him personally.
Augustine thought that God was all-powerful, that everything happens because God wants it to. But the Bible is full of stories, from the Garden of Eden onward, which show very clearly that much of what happens is not God's will.
The plan here is to distinguish between the details which only Christians are interested in, and focus mainly on the Christian faith from the perspective of Jesus, using only language which makes sense to people outside the church.
Westar Institute is dedicated to fostering and communicating the results of cutting-edge scholarship on the history and evolution of the Christian tradition, thereby raising the level of public discourse about questions that matter in society and cul
A conspiracy theory is (in principle, at least) an interesting creature: a theory about a specific conspiracy - generally, seeking to explain certain events as being the result of a conspiracy. So when we talk in public about a conspiracy theory, we
Sex & Sexuality is, for many people, a very difficult area to talk about: if we can agree even a framework in which conversations can be held, this could be seen as a considerable achievement.
As climate change melts glaciers and alters rainfall patterns, we are seeing droughts and floods affecting ever more people - which means that even more ecosystems are being disrupted, with consequences we cannot predict.
