As I’m in London for the next couple of months, I’ve had a chance to observe many of the differences between the U.S. and the U.K. Aside from the more obvious ones, such as language (”American English” vs. “The Queen’s English”), I recently came across one that I found particularly interesting.
In the U.S., where our [...]

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Thomas Jefferson wrote of the role of religion in the public sphere:

. . . it does me no injury for my neighbour to say there are twenty gods, or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg.

And he is correct. Religion being a purely private matter, the thoughts of another make no [...]

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Previously I took some time to look at the Declaration of Independence and its status as a legal, binding document for America. In briefly addressing Jefferson’s use of “the Creator” and “Nature’s God” in the Declaration, I wrote this:

Yet the Declaration’s language of “Nature’s God” and the “Creator”—tenuously religious terms of 18th Century Deists, skeptical [...]

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For some inexplicable reason, more and more frequently I have been seeing reference to the Declaration of Independence as some sort of evidence that America is a Christian nation. What better day than the 4th of July to address this document and its historical role in our government.
Contrary to popular belief, the Declaration of Independence [...]

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What religion can survive the criticism it would level against another religion?
In order for a religion to “prove” itself—in order for a religion to disprove its competitors—it must undertake a criticism of other religions. Christianity is not intellectually compatible with Judaism, and vice-versa. Thus, to win converts, Christianity must disprove the claims of Judaism, and [...]

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The madman.— Have you not heard of that madman who lit a lantern in the bright morning hours, ran to the marketplace, and cried incessantly: “I seek God! I seek God!” —As many of those who did not believe in God were standing around just then, he provoked much laughter. Has he got [...]

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