Ethics and Religion Talk
Ethics and Religion Talk: Is natural healing God's only will?
by (Rabbi David J.B...)
Submitted 11-13-2017 under OPINION
Her parents argued that the chemo made her sick, and also that "Our belief is the natural stuff will do just as much as that stuff if it's God's will.” If the parents were members of your faith, how would you counsel them? Father...
Ethics and Religion Talk: Is companionship enough without sex?
by (Rabbi David J.B...)
Submitted 11-06-2017 under OPINION
“I was married for 40 wonderful years. My husband died six and a half years ago. I met a Church of Christ Christian. He is a widower after 48 years of marriage. I am very religious and prayed about having sex and read the Bible. I...
Ethics and Religion Talk: Should Manson follower, killer Leslie Van Houten, be freed?
by (Rabbi David J.B...)
Submitted 10-30-2017 under OPINION
Recently, Leslie Van Houten, the youngest of the Manson 'family,' was recommended for parole by a state panel that concluded that she has radically changed her life during the more than 40 years in prison for two brutal...
Ethics and Religion Talk: Religious transformation
by (Rabbi David J.B...)
Submitted 10-23-2017 under OPINION
... that we have betrayed the LORD time and time again, and that I, as a Jew, am a disgusting, filthy pig. It was nothing more than a clumsy attempt to convince me that God would love me if I became a Christian because God no longer likes Jews. The...
Ethics and Religion Talk: Is stealing signs in baseball unethical?
by (Rabbi David J.B...)
Submitted 10-16-2017 under OPINION
"Jason" asks a baseball ethics question: Is it morally wrong for a team to steal the other team's signs? R. Scot Miller, who writes from an Anabaptist and Quaker Christian perspective, responds: “I find it difficult to accept...
Ethics and Religion Talk: Should congregations welcome sexual offenders?
by (Rabbi David J.B...)
Submitted 10-09-2017 under OPINION
Fred Stella, the Pracharak (Outreach Minister) for the West Michigan Hindu Temple, responds: “West Michigan Hindu Temple has not had to deal with this issue up to date so I have to speculate on this one. Before anything we must understand that...
Ethics and Religion Talk: What to do after a miscarriage? (Part 2)
by (Rabbi David J.B...)
Submitted 10-02-2017 under OPINION
Many people don’t realize that approximately 25% of pregnancies end in miscarriage. Most, however, take place in the first trimester. Second trimester miscarriages are much less common. My heart and the hearts of the Ethics and Religion Talk...
Ethics and Religion Talk: What to do after a miscarriage? (Part 1)
by (Rabbi David J.B...)
Submitted 09-25-2017 under OPINION
We are still in mourning and quite sad, yet also continually grateful for our other three children and grateful for the kindness and compassion of our family, friends, and caregivers. My wife and I are now pondering questions of what happens after...
Ethics and Religion Talk: Does religious freedom mean exemption from the law?
by (Rabbi David J.B...)
Submitted 09-18-2017 under OPINION
Wouldn't this allow religions to justify polygamy, race and sex discrimination, drug use, prostitution, or any other law they didn't like, to the detriment of civil society? Fred Stella, the Pracharak (Outreach Minister) for the West...
Ethics and Religion Talk: Senior relationships
by (Rabbi David J.B...)
Submitted 09-11-2017 under OPINION
But, we have a passionate side to our friendship. We don’t want to have sex. We just enjoy hugging and making out a little. Why is wrong if we love each other and have no intention to cross the line? I think it is unreasonable and unhealthy to...