I began my previous Beliefnet column with the line, 'Throughout history, religion has been the single greatest source of human-caused wars, suffering, and misery. In the name of God, more suffering has been inflicted than by any other manmade cause.' I was, of course, using the word 'religion' in its sociological meaning, as any belief invested with 'ultimate concern,' in which case not only Islam, Christianity, and Shintoism are religions, but Marxism, Nazism, and Eco-terrorism are all versions of religions or religiously held beliefs. Seen as such, the opening sentence is obviously true.

If you are talking to me about your new car, you are the first person, I am the second person, and the car is the third person. These pronouns actually represe…

There are several different meanings of the words 'religion' and 'spirituality,' all of which are important. The whole point about an integral or comprehensive…

In my previous column I didn't spell out, or really indicate what an 'integral approach' to spirituality would include. Many readers naturally assumed that thi…

Suppose you have two religions. Thought defines religion - the thought about the nature of God and various questions like that. Such thought is very important …

Many causes produce war. There are ancient hatreds, turbulent frontiers, the 'legacy of old forgotten, far-off things, and battles long ago.' There are new-bor…

1300 BC: God gives Ten Commandments to Israelites, making them His Chosen People and granting them eternal protection under Divine Law. Nothing bad ever happen…