TESTS That Fail Democracy Gregory Shafer The language of standardization appears to denote equity, of assuring that all children receive the same education. Behind the usages of these terms in educational policy, however, is a far different political and pedagogical reality. –Linda McNeil, Contradictions of School Reform It’s Tuesday and the hum around the high […]
How fundamentalism affects society – includes related article on one woman’s escape from religion Michael Franklin Social movements by their very nature demand change, and Promise Keepers is certainly no exception. But exactly how the group’s agenda would affect our nation can’t be learned from PK rhetoric and maudlin ceremonies. Furthermore, the research community is […]
The Myth of the American Superhero. – book review Fred Edwords by John Shelton Lawrence and Robert Jewett (Grand Rapids, Michigan and Cambridge, England: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2002); 416 pp with notes and index; $27.00 cloth. ancient cultures are known for their mythic narratives but it is only recently that a preponderance of […]
Armageddon In The Bible Gerald A. Larue Voices of doom announce the fulfillment of biblical end-of-the age prophecies on Christian fundamentalist radio and television programs. Among the numerous biblical roof texts being fulfilled are * the formation of the present state of Israel in 1948 and 1967 (Luke 21:24) * the increase in earthquakes (Matthew […]
A culture of clergy sexual abuse – Church And State Edd Doerr On July 23, 2003, Massachusetts Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly released a groundbreaking and finely detailed report entitled “The Sexual Abuse of Children in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston.” (The eight-four page report is available in its entirety on the attorney general’s […]
Signatories We who sign Humanism and Its Aspirations declare ourselves in general agreement with its substance and, while not necessarily endorsing all of its specifics, unreservedly offer it to a candid public. Philip W. Anderson Nobel laureate in physics, 1977 Philip Appleman Poet and distinguished professor emeritus of English, Indiana University Khoren Arisian Senior Leader, […]
Corporate supremacy & the erosion of democracy Ralph Nader A major indicator of an eroding democracy is the commercialization of society. Commercialization has always been in contention with Humanist values. Doing something only because it is profitable and not doing something else because it isn’t profitable must be carefully segregated to the private sector in […]
Better living through tranhumanism: more than just a philosophy and social movement, transhumanism is for many a way of life George Dvorsky Some experts believe that all genetically based diseases will be eliminated by 2030. The widespread application of genetic and other technologies, it is thought, may also result in significant increases to human intelligence, […]
Selling Serenity – sexual abuse lawsuits Andrew Meacham Sometime early in 1992 I received a book about how to sue one’s parents for sexual abuse. Editors receive free unsolicited books almost every day, most of which get shelved with scarcely a backward glance. This one, for whatever reason, caught my eye. Why would an adult […]
LETTERS to the editor – Letter to the Editor * Peace and War I agreed with everything that Douglas Mattern said in “Humanity’s Juncture: Abandoning the Road of War for the Road to Peace” until I read: “The same species that invented war is capable of inventing peace.” I don’t believe that the human species […]