Scientology Religion
January 25, 2020
Don’t Scientologists Believe in Mental Illness?
The thing that Scientologists take issue with is the lack of science behind so much of the psychiatric community’s categorizations...
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Combating Bigotry & Hate
January 14, 2020
Are Christians Right to Protest Netflix’s “First Temptation of Christ”?
I made it 31 minutes in, to the scene that managed to insult Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Rastafarianism, and...
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Scientology Religion
December 5, 2019
Why Does Scientology Keep Its Upper-Level Teachings “Secret”?
When I heard about the “OT levels” I was curious why much of it was kept confidential. Over time, I answered my own question....
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Combating Bigotry & Hate
October 10, 2019
Hope in the Face of Tragedy
We’re living in a time when it might be easy to lose faith in your fellow man. For centuries, the fearmongers have crowed...
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Combating Bigotry & Hate
August 15, 2019
The KKK and the Power of Symbols
I wasn’t surprised to read that members got the idea from D. W. Griffith’s 1915 silent film The Birth of a Nation. Fire...
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Religious Literacy
August 1, 2019
Catholicism in the Age of Scandal
Damning headlines and unforgivable scandal have, in recent times, become synonymous in the media with the Catholic Church,...
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Religious Literacy
June 22, 2019
Here’s to the Artists
Artists bring their own special energy to that endeavor and deserve support and encouragement and validation. Here’s to...
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Media & Ethics
March 6, 2019
What We Can Learn From the Jussie Smollett Story
Objectivity in media is, based on my experience, a myth. Some groups and organizations are more altruistic and civic-minded...
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Religious Freedom
February 6, 2019
Religious Status Is for Those Who Help
Reading this recent article about a jailed neo-Nazi trying to hide behind “religious freedom” to protect his hate speech...
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Scientology Religion
January 15, 2019
What’s the Deal With Scientology and Psychiatry?
I thought back to close family members and friends who had spent time taking antidepressants and other psychotropic drugs...
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Combating Bigotry & Hate
December 6, 2018
Never Let the Fox Guard the Chicken Coop
Why else would someone go so far down the road of attacking groups that have clearly demonstrated over and over again that...
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Scientology Religion
May 15, 2018
The Real Story of Scientology
Imagine living in a world where you have something in your life that you find incredibly helpful and rewarding, something...
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Media & Ethics
April 26, 2018
Facebook—Corporate Versus Personal Responsibility
I’ve been following with interest the story of how Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg are responding to the recent public and...
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Combating Bigotry & Hate
March 28, 2018
Bring It On
Scientology was the only thing I found that gave me practical, concrete answers to any and every question I could ask, from...
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Religious Literacy
February 3, 2018
We Can Have Our Cake And Eat It, Too
Religion was on my mind as I recently worked with a music producer in Nashville who is a devout Christian.
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Scientology Religion
December 30, 2017
What It’s Like Being a Scientology Dad
I have the most awesome kid in the world. I know every parent thinks that, but in my case I have empirical evidence to support...
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Scientology Religion
November 22, 2017
Giving Thanks Grateful to be a Scientologist
Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite holidays. Some of my earliest memories are of my extended family gathering...
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Combating Bigotry & Hate
October 20, 2017
Where Is God in Our Violent, Unpredictable World?
The question of how an all-loving and all-powerful God could allow things like this shooting to happen is one of the fundamental...
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Combating Bigotry & Hate
September 19, 2017
Ex-Members, Bigotry and Lazy Journalism
I have no doubt that in some cases the alleged negative experiences of ex-members are at least partially true. But what about...
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Religious Freedom
September 9, 2017
UN Youth Summit Inspires Human Rights Advocates Worldwide
I met Christians, Buddhists, Bahá’ís, Sikhs and Muslims. They were all united in their belief that fundamental human rights...
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Religious Freedom
July 19, 2017
Faith, Freedom and One’s Fellow Man
After seven hours of a passionate but civil public dialogue, more than 170 Americans came together to decide the future of...
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Combating Bigotry & Hate
June 28, 2017
Tim Tebow’s Religion, America’s Favorite Pastime
What’s the saying? “It’s as American as baseball and apple pie?” Football gets a lot of the love these days but whenever...
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Combating Bigotry & Hate
June 14, 2017
The Only “Story” That Matters About the Portland Stabbing
I’ve been reading about the train stabbing incident in Portland with a heavy heart. Like so many others, I’ve been trying...
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Religious Diversity
June 5, 2017
President Trump’s Trip
I’ve been following the President’s current overseas trip with interest. Whatever people think of the man (and I haven’t...
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Scientology Religion
May 26, 2017
Science and Religion
When I was a kid I asked a lot of questions. That wouldn’t surprise anyone who knows me now. I can be a little obsessive...
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Combating Bigotry & Hate
May 24, 2017
Raising Our Voices—What it Means to be a STAND Member
Scientologists are, almost without exception, really nice people. That’s something you could say of most people and groups...
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Religious Freedom
April 7, 2017
Talk Versus Action
Dr. Ganoune Diop, director of public affairs and religious freedom for the worldwide Seventh-Day Adventist Church, recently...
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Religious Freedom
April 6, 2017
Why Valarie Kaur is Right
After the September 11th attacks I remember hearing from a college friend whose family members were practicing Sikhs. She...
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Combating Bigotry & Hate
April 3, 2017
Two Verbs: Faith and Love
I learned one of the most important lessons of my life in my early 30s. I spent my teens and 20s with a storybook, romantic...
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Combating Bigotry & Hate
March 22, 2017
The Courage to Speak Up
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” —Edmund Burke, 18th-century Irish...
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Religious Freedom
March 13, 2017
Religion, Understanding and the Meaning of a Word
To say we’re living in turbulent times would be understating it. We’re all drowning in a sea of information that comes...
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Religious Freedom
March 8, 2017
Shining a Light Into the Darkness
One of the most uplifting things about the human experience is when people suffering unimaginable loss choose to channel their...
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Religious Freedom
March 4, 2017
Three Universes
Rather than using the third universe—the one we all share—to dominate others and impose our own sense of what is true...
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Combating Bigotry & Hate
January 10, 2017
It’s a Wonderful Life
Every Christmas I watch It’s a Wonderful Life with my family. It’s become a holiday tradition. Ninety-four percent of...
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