“Philosophy not selfish” plus 1 more

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Philosophy not selfish Posted: 02 Jan 2011 11:14 PM PST Published: Monday, Jan. 3, 2011 12:00 a.m. MST I am appalled at Jeffrey S. Nielsen's reasons for being a Democrat and most particularly his view that Republicans have "... a selfish moral philosophy" ("Here are reasons I am a Democrat," My View, Dec. 27). His reasons, while well-intentioned, show a misunderstanding of the American political process as developed from the Constitution. I think that our form of government is based on the faith and confidence that its citizens will use freedom wisely. The unparalleled prosperity, success and development of our nation are witness to the genius of the Constitution. While the old Spanish law was based on citizens' rights being granted from the monarch, we were granted complete freedom except as restricted by law. Of course we are a law-abiding nation, but in a sense we need to avoid the proliferation of laws. Individual freedom trumps the welfare state and results in increased prosperity for all. A rising tide raises all ships. Paul N. Kelly Orem This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php Five Filters featured site: So, Why is Wikileaks a Good Thing Again?.

Fresno State profs hope to encourage civil discourse Posted: 31 Dec 2010 04:46 PM PST Similar stories: Church plan in hometown of Confucius draws protest Church plan in hometown of Confucius draws protest China's officially atheist government wants to build a Christian church in the hometown of Confucius to help foster a relationship between an ancient philosophy and the country's fastest-growing religion. But suddenly, it's not going so smoothly. Confucian groups and 10 well-known scholars are demanding that the Gothic-style church not be built in Qufu, saying its size threatens to overshadow the world's most famous Confucian temple and represents a foreign invasion of a sacred place. "If a super-large Confucius temple were built in Jerusalem, Mecca or the Vatican, overshadowing the religious buildings there, how would the people feel about it? Would the government and the people accept it?" says an open letter from the protesters that was dated Wednesday and posted on blogs. Pope denounces abuses of Christians Pope denounces abuses of Christians Pope Benedict XVI urged Christians to remain strong in the face of intolerance and violence in a New Year's appeal that came several hours after a bomb blast outside an Egyptian church that killed at least 21 people as worshippers left Mass. The pope condemned a widening campaign against Christians in the Middle East in his homily at St. Peter's Basilica, echoing comments last month in which he called a lack of religious freedom a threat to world security. "In the face of the threatening tensions of the moment, especially in the face of discrimination, of abuse of power and religious intolerance that today particularly strikes Christians, I again direct a pressing invitation not to yield to discouragement and resignation," he said. Religion News in Brief Religion News in Brief A group of investors looking to build a replica of Noah's Ark as part of a proposed $172 million theme park cleared its first bureaucratic hurdle. The Kentucky Tourism Development Finance Authority granted preliminary approval Monday for state tax incentives for the project. An economic analysis must be done before being considered for final approval. Mike Zovath, co-founder of the Answers in Genesis ministry that opened the Creation Museum in Kentucky three years ago, said investors are looking to build a full-scale replica of the ark in what would be an expansive theme park that could draw some 1.6 million visitors a year. Valley news of the week -- Aug. 22-28 Valley news of the week -- Aug. 22-28 Escalating concerns about religious intolerance, deepening city budget woes and the apparent end of discussions about combining some Fresno city and county law-enforcement functions were among the most talked-about stories of last week. Here are the top stories of the past week, along with selected comments posted by readers on fresnobee.com. Mosque attacked Clovis Unified to pay $250k in student fees suit Clovis Unified to pay $250k in student fees suit Clovis Unified will pay $250,000 to settle a 2009 lawsuit that alleged it illegally charged fees to students for extracurricular activities like cheerleading and band. Three families will collect a share of $225,000, which also will pay lawyer fees and costs. The remaining $25,000 will be set aside for 18 months in case new allegations are uncovered. And others could see their costs go down as a result of the suit. The families filed the lawsuit after receiving bills from the district for thousands of dollars. One student said she received an itemized bill for more than $2,400 for band fees described as "voluntary donations." Two members of the philosophy department at California State University, Fresno, have been awarded a $100,000 research grant by the National Endowment for the Humanities to promote civil discourse on religion and religious diversity in the central San Joaquin Valley. Vincent F. Biondo, assistant professor of Western Religious Traditions, and Andrew Fiala, chairman of the philosophy department and director of Fresno State's Ethics Center, were named in 2011-13 grants for projects involving ethics, religion and civil discourse. Biondo and Fiala plan to present a conference in September for religious leaders and teachers on how to civilly talk about religion in public schools. A workshop for teachers on how to implement curriculum on religion in schools is planned in the summer of 2012. Both events also are geared to humanities scholars from throughout California. The project's goal is to educate and learn from religious leaders and teachers and to build partnerships among humanities scholars. Biondo and Fiala say they want to see the partnerships lead to the formation of scholarships for interfaith and inter-religious organizations and the development of a humanities course on "Religion in California." "We need to know how to work together to improve life in the Valley," Biondo says. The professors also plan a book for teaching about religious diversity. Fiala wrote a 2007 book -- "What Would Jesus Really Do?" -- that challenges readers to take Jesus' moral teachings and supplement them with contemporary ethical writings on current situations to get their answers. Biondo served six months as a Fulbright Scholar in Wales in 2009. He interviewed mainly Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders to better understand how interfaith cooperation plays a role in the prevention of urban violence. Fresno State's College of Arts and Humanities, the Ethics Center and the School of Education also will help present the conference and workshop. The National Endowment for the Humanities awarded a total of $23 million for projects. It was founded in 1965 as an independent agency to support research and learning in history, literature, philosophy and other areas of humanities. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php Five Filters featured site: So, Why is Wikileaks a Good Thing Again?.

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