By Harold W. Anderson, Ph.D., M.A., M.Div., MFT When I was growing up, I was told that I must “believe.” In our house, belief was equated with faith so believing in the right things made a person faithful. What were we supposed to believe? It was the standard affair for anyone growing up in middleContinue reading “Asking “Why?””
Category Archives: Ethics
Minimal Decency as an Obligation for Our Leaders
By Harold W. Anderson, Ph.D., M.A., M.Div. I have never lived in a country ruled by a dictator. Basically, in a dictatorship, anyone who does not agree with the dictator is considered an enemy and dealt with as such. Since policy under a dictator is at the whim of the dictator, no one really knowsContinue reading “Minimal Decency as an Obligation for Our Leaders”
A Lie Is a Lie…Right?
By Harold W. Anderson, Ph.D., M.A., M.Div. Emmanuel Kant believed that a lie was a lie and lying was and is always wrong. Do you agree? Most of my ethic students weren’t quite sure. Surely, they thought, a little lie—sometimes called “a white lie”—won’t hurt anything, would it? In fact, contrary to Kant, they wouldContinue reading “A Lie Is a Lie…Right?”
Faithful Living and the Difference between Kerygma and Myth
By Harold W. Anderson, Ph.D., M.A., M.Div. It is impossible to use electric light and the wireless and to avail ourselves of modern medical and surgical discoveries, and at the same time to believe in the New Testament world of spirits and miracles. We may think we can manage it in our own lives, butContinue reading “Faithful Living and the Difference between Kerygma and Myth”
Does Your Moral Compass Point North?
Jews, Arabs, Bedouins, Europeans, Easterners, Africans, Americans…Christian, Judaism, Islam, Hindu, Buddhism, Shinto…dark skinned persons, persons of color, white people…straight, gay, trans, nonbinary…poor, rich, middle, homeless. Some want to say all the people standing behind these labels are human beings and as such, should be treated with respect. Some want to say that none of thisContinue reading “Does Your Moral Compass Point North?”
The Wisdom of Learning from Our Mistakes
By Harold W. Anderson, M.A., M.Div., Ph.D., LMFT When you have lived 70 years, you would think you would have learned something. Life experiences are great teachers, but you must be strong enough and willing to listen to them as teachers. This is not easy. The problem is, we all want to be right. WeContinue reading “The Wisdom of Learning from Our Mistakes”
Goodness, not Self-Interest, Is Our Truth
Sermon based on I Peter 1:17-22, written by Harold W. Anderson, Ph.D. on April 18, 1999 Let me begin this morning by telling you several different scenarios. I want you to think about each one and answer to yourself what you think you would do in these different circumstances. Here’s the first scenario: You areContinue reading “Goodness, not Self-Interest, Is Our Truth”
Facing the End of Life
By Rev. Harold W. Anderson, Ph.D., LMFT Last March we were bringing our vacation in Maui to a close. While packing our bags, Becky received a call from Becky’s youngest sister. Since we were busy packing, Becky let the call go to voicemail and thought she would call her sister back on the way toContinue reading “Facing the End of Life”