COLUMN: Part 4 - PARADOX AND POST-MODERNISM - The ultimate goal of this Part 4 is to examine briefly and discuss the nature of our contemporary postmodernist movement. But before we take up the topic, it is essential that we consider the rationality/non-rationality paradox. This will serve as a vital prelude to our discussion of post modernism.

COLUMN: Never mind that in the currently ongoing election primaries, Congressman Ron Paul is barely showing in the polls, or that his chances of getting nominated, let alone winning the presidential election, look less than dim. Never mind as well that many, including myself, do not agree with everything Paul advocates.

COLUMN: The Christian philosophy of the non-rational is a philosophy only in a loose, non-technical sense and can perhaps be better viewed simply as a way of understanding (or looking at) human and all of universal existence.

COLUMN: By way of introduction, the objective in this second part in my series on rational atheism is twofold. First, it is to demonstrate that, regardless of the position one takes, be it religious or not, every person without exception faces a common dilemma with respect to finding rational meaning in existence.

COLUMN: In the process of authoring my 5 part series on rational atheism, recent experiences have led me to conclude that, as a side article in passing (not part of my main series on rational atheism), it would be useful to express some important observations I have made lately concerning atheists.

COLUMN: Part I - The Two Brands of Atheism — In all of my studies and observations of atheists and their beliefs, I have found that atheism is not monolithic in its beliefs or in the philosophic position it takes. As a matter of fact, there is a profound conflict among atheists as to how they view and approach reality.

COLUMN: The recent trip of Roman Catholic Pope Benedict XVI to Turkey, with all the surrounding controversy that the event managed to generate, brought to the center of attention some of the most pivotal issues of history that have shaped and are shaping our Western world. Based on the fact that the Pope’s trip to Turkey represented a rare journey by a Pope to a Muslim country, the issue of Islam and the West seemed to have received the greatest interest.

COLUMN: In all the heated and at times violent confrontations that have taken place over the issue of a seemingly out-of-control illegal immigration from Mexico into the United States, charges of racism have been raised against those who voice strong opposition toward this socially devastating invasion.