When dealing with other people, the reasonable, sensitive, and even self-interested thing to do is compromise, and be prepared to meet the other person halfway. Correct? Well, not really. All action needs to be purposeful. That includes the action of … Continue reading
I recently heard a religiously conservative talk radio host, Mike Church, argue with an atheist caller. The atheist caller criticized the host for claiming that freedom would perish in a society of ‘Godless people.’ Church’s premise was that a free … Continue reading
Former President Jimmy Carter, a Democrat, recently expressed these views on abortion: “I never have believed that Jesus Christ would approve of abortions and that was one of the problems I had when I was President, having to uphold Roe … Continue reading
Conclusion of yesterday’s column. Q: You have defined sacrifice as essentially the giving up of a greater good for the sake of a lesser good. Now I am not a theologian, but I have been speaking with a few clergymen … Continue reading
A journalist and visitor to DrHurd.com writes: Q: ‘The meaning of Lent is different to different people, but overall there seems to be a general theme of self-sacrifice or self-denial in an effort to put one’s mind in a more … Continue reading
Dear Dr. Hurd: If you don’t mind suggestions on articles, have you ever written one on the evils of “enabling”? That is, the phenomenon where a person knows that what someone else is doing is wrong, sometimes morally, but will … Continue reading
A company hosts a press conference to show how caring and compassionate it is. The CEO of the company, dressed in a top-of-the-line suit, stands in front of the television cameras with his arms around a homeless man who has … Continue reading
In response to my comment that there’ s no shame in hating the contemptible, an irate reader wrote in with the following quote from Martin Luther King, Jr.: “Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night … Continue reading
I recently encountered a psychologist who said, in essence, “People are doing the best they can; and they’re getting something out of what they’re doing.” He maintained, and he’s right, that psychologists and therapists especially should keep this in mind. … Continue reading
Back to the case of Henry Judd Gray. Let’s assume that Mencken’s assessment of Gray was correct, that he failed to rationally distinguish ‘sin from sin.’ What would then be the rational way out of his psychological predicament? It would … Continue reading
Mencken writes: ‘What is the chief mark of such a good man? That he cannot differentiate rationally between sin and sin—that a gnat gags him as badly as a camel. So with poor Gray. His initial peccadillo shocked him so … Continue reading
According to the principles of cognitive therapy, black-and-white thinking is a major cause of emotional problems such as depression and anxiety. Also known as all-or-nothing thinking, many cognitive therapists define it as seeing things in black-or-white categories. If a situation … Continue reading