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The Mr. Rogers-ification of Christianity 0
- Culture
- April 6, 2018
As a former Pittsburgh-area kid, I love Mr. Rogers. His history as a Navy SEAL may be the stuff of urban legend, but as an ordained Presbyterian minister living out his calling as a children’s TV host, Fred Rogers helped generations of kids cope with issues like death, divorce, and anger. Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, which
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How Christianity Created Secularism 1
- Religion
- April 5, 2018
I’m someone who holds an ongoing interest in the origins of secularism. It’s a fascinating question to me: How did Christianity grow from a small, persecuted movement in Palestine to become the European cultural phenomenon known as “Christendom”, only to be relegated to an ostensibly marginalized position in modern Western society? According to one answer:
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The Case for Granting Sex Machines Rights 0
- Culture
- April 5, 2018
Late last year at a tech fair in Austria, a sex robot was “molested” repeatedly and left in a “filthy” state. The robot, named Samantha, received a barrage of male attention, which resulted in her sustaining two broken fingers. This incident confirms worries that the possibility of fully functioning sex robots raises both tantalising possibilities
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Does Reflecting on Death Help Prepare Us for it?0
- Economics
- April 5, 2018
Memento mori – invitations to reflect on our own mortality – have been common throughout history. Two ancient traditions that made reflection on death central to their paths are Buddhism and Stoicism. For both, the starting point is the fact that our normal perceptions of value are deeply flawed, as we are constantly craving or
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Not All Smart Girls Need to Go to College 0
- Culture
- April 5, 2018
A recent Forbes article left readers with a statistic that is downright scary: Two-thirds of the American student debt is held by women. This is perhaps not surprising since more women than men now go to college. But there’s a more alarming reason at play. Compared to men, women are less likely to understand the
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Abraham Lincoln’s ‘Letter to His Son’s Teacher’ is Totally Fake 3
- Education
- April 5, 2018
Someone recently shared with me, via social media, a charming letter Abraham Lincoln supposedly wrote to his son’s teacher on the day the lad started school. The headline was catchy. I couldn’t resist clicking. After all, perhaps there was a bit of wisdom in the letter I could share with Intellectual Takeout readers. Here is
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The Mr. Rogers-ification of Christianity 0