Philosophy

American Christians calling for censorship based on religious beliefs should look to Saudi Arabia for an indication of what faith-based government means. There, government recently sentenced “prominent Saudi blogger [Raif Badawi] to 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes for insulting Islam,” Fox News reports.

If Iranian women “remove their veils in public, they can receive 70 lashes or 60 days in prison,” reports Vocativ. Regardless, some Iranian women “have taken to Facebook to post photos of themselves veil-less.” On Twitter, the movement is known as (translated) “stealth freedom.” Best wishes to these courageous women as they challenge such insane, faith-based, barbaric practices.

Was American evangelist Franklin Graham an outlier when, because of this Christian faith, he endorsed the Russian government’s censorship of speech (in his case speech pertaining to homosexuality)? Unfortunately, no. Russia has, under Putin, vastly expanded government censorship of speech—and more American Christians have endorsed Russia’s censorship.

Although it is not surprising that a thug such as Putin would want forcibly to silence speech he opposes, it may surprise some that a revered “gentle” Christian such as Graham seeks to do so too. However, Graham’s support for censorship is consistent with the tenets of his religion.

Rather than humbly seek God’s guidance through prayer, we should proudly uphold the value of reason as our only means of achieving rational guidance in politics or any other area of life. And we should demand that our political leaders go, not by faith, feelings, or popular opinion, but by rational, rights-respecting principles.

"Deeply held" irrational beliefs are still irrational, whether those beliefs call for handling dangerous snakes or burning “witches” or flying airplanes into buildings. Integrity does not consist in loyalty to irrational principles or beliefs; it consists in loyalty to rational principles—principles based in observation and logic and in service of human life.

Ari Armstrong reviews Responsibility & Luck: A Defense of Praise and Blame, by Diana Hsieh.

Offers a concise history of the relationships and conflicts between Aristotelianism and the three major monotheistic religions, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam; illustrates the varying degrees to which Western and Middle Eastern cultures accepted or rejected The Philosopher's ideas and attempted to mix them with religion; and shows the power of rational ideas to sustain and further human life and the power of irrational ideas to throttle and thwart it.

Discusses the nature of principles, surveys various kinds of principles, draws crucial definitions of “principle” from the survey, and shows the vital role of principles in thinking.

What is the proper moral standard? As Ayn Rand identified, it is only a person’s own life that, ultimately, can serve as his highest value, which all other values properly support. Life, Rand pointed out, makes values possible and necessary.