By Donald B. Ardell – 06.09.13

Introduction: The Problems with Religion

If religion did not imprison minds and corrupt hearts, if it were not the enemy of intellectual freedom, if it did not breed intolerance and promote divisions if, in short, it went about its business and left the rest of us alone, who would worry about it? Not many, and certainly not most of the secular community currently engaged repairing and defending what’s left of the proverbial wall separating church and state. 

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By Donald B. Ardell - 05.26.13

Introduction

On Pat Robertson’s daily program called "The 700 Club," a woman named Ivy called for advice: "I've been trying to forgive my husband for cheating on me. We have gone to counseling, but I just can't seem to forgive, nor can I trust. ...

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​By Donald B. Ardell - 05.19.13

There are so many absurdities in our day-to-day political life related to religion. We have become inured to new standards of idiocy set by theocratic pols seeking to outdo each other sucking up to religious crazies.

The result of our collective hesitancy is that things keep getting worse. That is, the intrusion of religion in varied forms becomes more pervasive, and our drift toward theocracy increasingly pernicious.

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By Donald B. Ardell – 05.12.13

Introduction: Most People Can’t Sustain Healthy

Lifestyles

Over the years, I’ve collaborated with an eminent Australian polymath (Dr. Grant Donovan) in conducting research on lifestyle change. Our work has focused on understanding whether adults have a better than 50/50 chance of benefiting from efforts to improve their lifestyles. Our double-blind, crossover, randomized horizontal and dignified trials have explored a simple but profound question that others have taken for...

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By Donald B. Ardell – 04.28.13

Introduction: My Claim to Standing in Pennsylvania

I grew up in Pennsylvania. Graduated from elementary and high schools in Philadelphia. So even though I have been away from the Keystone State for 58 years, I think I have some (albeit shaky) standing to suggest a bill. Not that I want to introduce it, of course, or that...

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​By Donald B. Ardell - 04.21.13

Suppose Islamists in time became the dominant religion in this country, and suppose once they had enough political power to do so, they organized to have their religious slogan on the currency. Imagine Allahu Akbar (if not their Prophet’s mug) on coins of the realm and notes of all denominations? How would that be any different from “In God We Trust?” Wouldn’t that be just as but not more...

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