What is the Value of Life, Pt. 8: Health & Medicine
Our talk says we value health and medicine. Our actions say something different. Are we lying to ourselves?
charles i. letbetter
What is the Value of Life, Pt. 6: Education
Does education only exist to make us employable or is it meant to make us better people? There’s no agreement on the answer.
What Is The Value of Life, Pt. 5: Family
Family! We all have them, but do they raise our value or do they hinder it? What is the best structure for realizing our value?
What Is The Value Of Life, Pt. 4: Work
What we do, our occupation, our work, is an important and unavoidable part of how our lives are valued. That value may be threatened.
What Is The Value of Life, Pt. 3: Morality
Morality plays a large role in how we value life. Good is better than bad. The challenge is, how do we define what is good? This isn’t easy.
What Is The Value Of Life, Pt. 2: Economics
Using economic calculations to place a value on life often falls short of our perception of self-worth. Can one put a dollar value on life?
What Is The Value Of Life, Pt. 1: What IS Life?
Every life presumably has value, but just how much value? Are some lives more valuable than others? Depends on one’s definitions.
Is There Too Much To Learn?
With so much information available and infinite amounts of knowledge to consume, is there a limit to how much one person can know?
Before You Light The First Firecracker
Independence Day, July 4, is the quintessential American holiday. Hold up. Before lighting any fireworks, let’s talk about true freedom
That’s Not What I Meant
The words we write and the words we say are not always taken in the manner that we intend and sometimes that causes some problems.
I Don’t Have To Be Your Friend
As we grow older, our selection of friends becomes smaller, sometimes prompting us to question why we were friends in the first place.
I Forgot What I Came Here For
I don’t always remember what I’m doing, why I’m in this room, or how things work. Memory is complicated. Losing it is frightening.
Pride, Rainbows, Floods, and Gods
An anti-Pride meme sends the wrong message and completely misses the facts about rainbows, floods, and Pride.
Running From the Hands of a Racist
Emotions are triggered when looking at my hands starts to remind me of a racist grandparent I never wanted to emulate.
Ending One Life To Search For Another
Ending the one thing for which we’ve always been knowing, putting more than 35 years of experience on the shelf, was not an easy decision.
Whose Rights Are These, Anyway?
One strong trait of Americans is the extent to which we value our rights, our liberties. But what happens when my rights conflict with yours?
Where Do We Go From Here?
We look at gains made: not biting our nails, COVID-19 Vaccines, economy surging, and it feels good. But what direction do we take next?
PTSD: A Nation Suffering From Continued Trauma
From the assassination of John F. Kennedy to two mass shootings in the past two weeks, the US has no shortage of trauma, leaving us with PTSD
What The Atlanta Murders Teach About Sex Work
The racist murder of eight people at Atlanta-area massage parlors demands that we reconsider our views on professional sex work.
The Art Of Doing Nothing
What may look like laziness to some may be the ultimate form of avoiding stress and keeping yourself creative and healthy.
This Isn’t Nam, There Are Rules
Not everyone plays fair. They step over the line. When cheating hurts the poor we have to speak out. This isn’t Nam, Dude. There are rules.
Don’t Go Climbing Mountains
Everyone has mountains they must cross. Unless there’s no mountain. Let’s consider that maybe our challenges aren’t as big as we think.
Losing A Little, Finding A Lot
When we give up one thing we can discover something much better. but do we dare to give up something we think is important?
Loving Better: Cancelling Stigmas
Stigmas of every kind stand in the way of us loving people who desperately need to be loved and we desperately need to love them.
Intentional Acts of Generosity
Companies are adjusting their spending on Super Bowl commercials prompting us to consider our moral imperative to give to those suffering
Yes, We Still Feel Anxious
A lot of people thought that with the changing of the president their anxiety would go away, but it’s still there. We still have anxiety.
Staying The Course For The Change We Still Need
The inauguration of a new administration does not mean we have time to relax. Long-needed change requires continued vigilance and passion.
Answering Our Call To Live
Disney/Pixar’s movie “Soul” raises the question of “What is my purpose in life?” We’ve asked that for centuries. The answer is simple.
Sunday Sermon: New Year, Old Problems
The actions and events of this week require a response if we are fulfilling our obligations to making this year a better one.
Advent: Hearing Bells On Christmas Day
Our final thoughts on this Advent season take us to the first pronouncement of a coming Messiah and Mary’s account of why deity incarnated.
Redemption: Advent in a Time of Turmoil
May the Peace of Justice find us embracing repentance and redemption not only for ourselves but for those who we may not consider worthy.
Advent In A Pandemic
What in our future is worthy of anticipation? The following article was first published November 29 on Facebook Today is the first Sunday of Advent in the Christian tradition. Around the world, churches are lighting candles, hanging the green, and enduring bad versions of Magnificat. Secularly, it marks the beginning …
What If We Don’t
What if we choose to not return to the old normal? We have an opportunity to better our world, but will we?
2020 Is Almost Here And I'm Already Disappointed
All predictions were that we would be a great society by 2020. Those predictions were wrong. 2020 is already disappointing.
Searching For Legacy In Fear Of Being Forgotten
The New Yorker scooped my planned topic so we got all depressed and went this direction instead.
Being Creative Is Scary And I Need A Drink
Being creative and maintaining that creativity raises a lot of questions and doubts and the fear that we’re all going mad.
Planetary Abortion: Saving The Lives That Matter
There has been a lot of incendiary talk about abortion this week but if we truly value life we have to realize it’s the planet we’re about to abort.
Replacing WWJD With WDJS
Asking What Would Jesus Do (WWJD) is the wrong question. Instead, one should ask What Did Jesus Say? (WDJS)
This Is Where We Are Now
Have we reached a state of permanent dystopia and injustice or are there some things we’re missing? We look at the numbers across the board.