An article by Deepak Chopra in the Washington Post in response to their question:
Some Christian leaders issued “An Evangelical Manifesto” last week to depoliticize the term ‘evangelical.’ “We evangelicals are defined theologically, and not politically, socially or culturally,” they said. In your mind, what is the definition of an evangelical? The New Evangelicalism: "Not to Attack or Exclude"

I have no patience for theories of universal evil -- that is, attributing evil to Satan, the fall of man, genes, human nature, or unnamed dark forces lurking in our unconscious. In one way or another, these theories have increased the effects of evil rather than alleviating them. In addition, they are false, or at the very least unprovable. Evil may be powerful, but nobody has ever photographed the devil or caught the unconscious on an MRI. On the other hand, there's enormous validity in viewing evil as something very different: a matter of perception. We all know this from everyday life. We forgive our children for things that we condemn harshly in another person's child. Our perception is colored by love and loyalty on one hand but not the other.

Time Magazine asks, Is it Time to Invade Myanmar? With reports of up to 100,000 people dead, and no signs of relief from the after effects of the cyclone, the humanitarian crisis is unraveling. Meanwhile, the government is blocking aid because of fear of letting foreign entities in. "If we let them get away with murder we may set a very dangerous precedent,"

In a recent interview for his new book on democracy, Bill Moyers presented the bleakest face of goodness that one could imagine. He is too gentle to mount a jeremiad, yet Moyers' recent career has been one long lamentation. He says, "Politics can create problems that politics can't solve," citing the frightening rise of lobbyists, special interests, and ideological factions. The moneyed classes ride roughshod over the poor. Political power slides into lucrative influence peddling the minute a senator, congressman, or president leaves office. None of these genies can be put back into the bottle, as he sees it. The forces of greed and corruption are too strong, too deeply entrenched. Democracy has crumpled in the grip of dark forces. What remains of Moyers' brand of Sixties liberalism? Only a residual feeling in people's hearts that a society should be decent, good, and fair.

An article in the Washington Post by Deepak Chopra in response to their question:
The percentage of voters who find Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama "honest and trustworthy" is declining as the campaign wears on. Why? From a moral standpoint, how important is this quality in a president?

Politicians and the Cycle of Lying

In the generation before Shakespeare, the French essayist Montaigne remarked that cruelty and vengeance are so inherent in human nature that we wouldn't be ourselves without them. In so many words, Shakespeare said the same thing in his tragedies and histories. Would Hamlet be as interesting if he weren't bent on revenge, or Lady Macbeth without her blood lust? This is a serious question for anyone who wants human nature to transcend its base impulses. I think that what makes Buddha and Jesus so radical is that they gave up on hand-wringing, moralizing, and wishful thinking. Instead of healing human nature, they proposed radical surgery to completely alter it. Aiming at a spiritual revolution that far exceeds spiritual reform, they had to connect pain with a more profound problem: evil.

Common sense tells us that people naturally seek pleasure and avoid pain, but common sense is wrong. Pain is rarely a deterrent from destructive behavior. Sometimes the greater the pain, the more fiercely someone will cling to it. We see this on many fronts, from domestic abuse (when battered spouses repeatedly return to their abuser) to the Iraq conflict (where militias seem willing to slaughter each other until no one is left standing). Our addiction to pain is one of the toughest problems to solve in human psychology.

An article in TIME magazine on the Dalai Lama The Dalai Lama

A article in the Washington Post by Deepak Chopra in response to their question: Jeremiah Wright's sermons continue to be an issue in the presidential campaign. Why? What do you think of his preaching style? What do you wish you understood better about it?
A Test Case for Obama's Idealism

An article in the Washington Post in response to their question: In his speech to U.S. bishops last week, Pope Benedict XVI said: "Any tendency to treat religion as a private matter must be resisted . . . To the extent that religion becomes a purely private affair, it loses its very soul." Do you agree or disagree? Why? Benedict's Choice Is No Choice