This will only make sense to those who have followed the recent series of posts and responses about the fairness of fees to be paid by owners of condominiums in a new complex. However, the hypothetical thought experiment illumines more than the specific issue. The question is what makes an economic covenant fair. The right answer is— (drum roll)—option three. Under the veil of ignorance the majority, if not all of the owners would decide that maintenance fees be based... Read more

Here I will offer a theory of how best to determine and justify the monthly annual fees for owners of condominiums in a new complex. Everyone who has responded to my immediately preceding post has mentioned “fairness.” But what is that? The reason I posed that specific question (about the hypothetical condominium complex) in my immediately preceding blog post is because it is a case study in what fairness means. I think it points to other scenarios, including how taxes... Read more

Here is an ethics quandary and thought experiment (one combined) for your delight. Answer briefly as you wish. But follow the rules at the end. A condominium complex is completed and all the condos have sold. The owners have not yet moved in. The very final “touches” are being put on it. The “Declaration” to be filed with the Secretary of State is being written by the owners. They all meet to decide on several issues. One of those is... Read more

The thing I like best about public intellectual David Brooks is his open and unapologetic belief in a universal cosmic moral order. These days that is not something anyone can simply take for granted. I am sure Brooks does not think such a universal cosmic moral order is obvious to everyone, but I am sure he believes it is objectively real and something needing to be discovered. He thinks, as I do, that it is not a social construction, infinitely... Read more

Almost everyone agrees that in 2025/2026 America is severely divided. Perhaps at no time since the Civil War in the 1860s has it been this bad. Then the issues were clear—slavery, abolition of slavery, states rights. Today, the issues are not as clear. In order to bring some clarity to the problem I will focus here and now only on the two major political parties. Each has about equal numbers of supporters but there are many independent voters. The problem... Read more

Here I announce a new book discussion for those who are interested. The book is The Myth of Certainty: The Reflective Christian and the Risk of Commitment by my former colleague and forever friend Daniel Taylor. This book spoke to me in a powerful way when I was struggling with doubts and questions about what I had been taught and was expected to believe, especially by pastors and evangelists and even by some college and seminary teacher. I recognized myself... Read more

*Now continues a second part of this series; this series is about my reasons for being a Christian and for embracing a particular “brand” of Christianity called (as in the name of this blog) “evangelical Arminianism.” In order to understand this post you need to read the immediately preceding ones about my reasons for being an “evangelical” Christian. 9) My Third Reason for Embracing “Evangelical, Arminian Christianity”: “Arminian” My immediately preceding post/essay explained why I am an evangelical Christian—both descriptively... Read more

There’s another round of heresy-hunting going on among American evangelicals. It’s playing out on Youtube. Many conservative evangelical influencers (and would-be influencers) are condemning annihilationism as heresy. This round of that old controversy began with Christian celebrity Kirk Cameron allegedly affirming annihilationism. What is annihilationism? It’s the belief that the wicked will not spend eternity in any traditional hell (torment) but will be extinguished, annihilated. According to annihilationists, the souls of those who reject God’s grace will simply cease to... Read more

What is “Critical Race Theory?” Well, there is no universally agreed on definition. However, across definitions and descriptions there are some common and agreed on features. Critical Race Theory (CRT) holds that racism against Blacks is endemic to American society. It is not just individuals who are racists; American society is racist, especially the parts of it that are dominated by Whites. And most of it is dominated by Whites in that every White person in America enjoys “White privilege”... Read more

This is a question a reader asked. I’m happy to offer my thoughts. It’s a question of ethics as well as of psychology and here I treat it as that rather than of psychology. I held an endowed chair in Christian ethics at a major Christian research university. Here I will only address the question for Christians. This question is personal to me. The last thing my father said to me was “If you tell anyone what you know about... Read more