Is Life After Death Possible?

Scott Mendelson, M.D., 12.28.2009

Author of Beyond Alzheimer's

The philosopher George Berkeley posed the question, "If a tree fell in the forest and no one heard it, would it make a sound?" A closer look may have bearing on the question of whether there is life after death.

How Anne Frank Was Sent Back Into Hiding

Josie Ensor, 12.28.2009

Journalist based in Beirut, Lebanon

Hezbollah say its war is not against Jews but on the "Zionist entity," yet it broadcasted a diatribe against the teenage Holocaust victim Anne Frank on its TV station.

A Secret to Happiness? Discovering the Pleasures of Uncertainty

Todd Kashdan, 12.28.2009

Clinical psychologist, scientist, professor of psychology at George Mason University

Who wants all the answers? Who wants effortless moments? Who wants to be given the warm, humble feeling atop Mount Kilimanjaro without the climb?

A Buddhist Skateboarding Monk: A Contradiction Or A Product Of The Modern Age?

Deborah Jiang Stein, 12.28.2009

Chief Mutt Correspondent

Is the quiet meditative expectation for a monk really in contradiction to a skateboard ride? Maybe outsiders don't understand the life of a monk in our contemporary world.

God, Football and Urban Meyer

Wayne Besen, 12.28.2009

Founder of Truth Wins Out, a non-profit organization that debunks anti-gay lies and myths

Athletes and coaches should get back to scoring touchdowns or drawing up plays on chalkboards. The whole "catch a ball for God" routine is getting stale.

Focus in Front

Yehuda Berg, 12.28.2009

Yehuda Berg is a renowned authority on Kabbalah. Touted as “the people’s kabbalist” he shares ...

Every moment counts. Every decision counts. And if we look at our decisions in life as such, we stop battling and start winning.

Compassion: A Shared Ideal That Transcends Differences

Susan Smalley, Ph.D., 12.28.2009

Susan L. Smalley, Ph.D. is a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at ...

We may have been told to 'follow the golden rule' as children (to do unto others as you would have others do unto you) but now science is illustrating the powerful role doing just that can have on humanity.

Muslim Youth Radicalization or Politically Correct Islamophobia?

Reem Salahi, 12.28.2009

Attorney specializing in national security and civil rights; Internet radio host

The discourse on radicalization and homegrown terrorism is fundamentally racist and Islamophobic. It is based on seeing Muslims as the "other" and viewing our actions through an "orientalist" lens.

What Hipsters Can Learn From Hasids About the Bedford Bike Lane

Nathan Schneider, 12.28.2009

The Row Boat

If bikers had been more courteous on Bedford, there might still be a lane there. The Hasidim probably wouldn't like it at first, but they'd at least tolerate us.

In Iran, Dissent Becomes Resistance and Insurrection May Follow

Giles Slade, 12.28.2009

Recovering academic writer

It would be condescending to say that say democracy is coming to Iran as painfully as a toddler cuts his first teeth. This toddler happens to be 5,000 years old.

Obama, the Fallen Messiah

Max Blumenthal, 12.28.2009

Author, "Republican Gomorrah: Inside The Movement That Shattered The Party"

Those former Obama fanatics experiencing a crisis in faith should look in the mirror. What they have refused to acknowledge is that Obama would not have fallen so hard had they not lifted him so high.

Good King Wenceslas: What Will We Risk for Justice?

Anne Dilenschneider, 12.27.2009

Award-winning poet, essayist, spiritual director, and leadership consultant.

Wenceslas was a ruler whose power was due to personal faith and integrity as well as physical prowess.

Teacher Exploits Christmas by Pushing Religious Carols in Public Schools

Wayne Besen, 12.26.2009

Founder of Truth Wins Out, a non-profit organization that debunks anti-gay lies and myths

As recognition that religious majorities often make religious minorities feel left out, as well as to follow that pesky "separation of church and state" rule that keeps our country free, we don't use public schools to promote religion.

How the Story of Christmas Saved Islam

Kamran Pasha, 12.25.2009

Hollywood filmmaker, author of "Mother of the Believers"

I would like to share a Christmas story that many people today do not know. The true story of how the tale of Jesus and Mary saved the nascent religion of Islam from annihilation.

An American Christmas Playlist

Richard (RJ) Eskow, 12.25.2009

Consultant, Writer, Health Analyst

American music gives us more than enough to provide a great list of songs to play this Christmas. I dug up twelve songs from a variety of styles to inspire you on the holiday.

Have Yourself A Merry Little Chrismahanukwanzaadan

Dr. Judith Rich, 12.25.2009

OK, diversity fans and PC police, here's the ultimate holiday greeting: you combine the world's four main holidays celebrated at year's end: Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and Ramadan, and you get...

Have a Very Merry [redacted]

Leah Anthony Libresco, 12.25.2009

Junior at Yale University, double majoring in Political Science and Mathematics

According to Eamon Javers at Politico, Barack Obama has explicitly referenced Jesus Christ more frequently as president than George W. Bush ever did. ...

EBay Listen Up: Who Do You Stand With: The Victims of Genocide or Those Who Celebrate Its Perpetrators?

Rabbi Abraham Cooper, 12.28.2009

Associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center and its Museum of Tolerance

Without a doubt, eBay occupies prime virtual real estate in our digital malls. Out in the real world, malls do not allow the KKK and neo-Nazis to rent space and pedal hate.

Weathering The Winter Of The Soul

Pythia Peay, 12.24.2009

Pythia Peay got her start as a writer in 1968, when her weekly column, “Wildflowers,” ran in the ...

Light -- the radiance of spiritual illumination - has always been celebrated by the world's religions. Yet like a season of the soul, the darker emotion of despair offers a different kind of illumination.

Isn't There Anyone Who Knows What the Christmas Legal Holiday is All About?

Jim Thomas, 12.24.2009

Lawyer for business/Steward for Colorado

I started blogging about our country's "legal" holidays out of concern that, for many, these days were just another day off. Well, it turns out that the Christmas federal holiday is actually just that, legally at least.

What I Want For Christmas: Mass Clemency

Jacob M. Appel, 12.24.2009

Bioethicist and medical historian

A mass, collective pardon of nonviolent offenders would reunite hundreds of thousands of families, save billions of dollars in incarceration costs, and might foster a national spirit of forgiveness and reconciliation.